摘要:
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are critically involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Acting as an open-channel blocker, the anti-AD drug memantine preferentially targets NMDAR overactivation, which has been proposed to trigger neurotoxic events mediated by amyloid beta peptide (A beta) and oxidative stress. In this study, we applied a multifunctional approach by conjugating memantine to ferulic acid, which is known to protect the brain from A beta neurotoxicity and neuronal death caused by ROS. The most interesting compound (7) behaved, like memantine, as a voltage-dependent antagonist of NMDAR (IC50 = 6.9 mu M). In addition, at 10 mu M concentration, 7 exerted antioxidant properties both directly and indirectly through the activation of the Nrf-2 pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. At the same concentration, differently from the parent compounds memantine and ferulic acid alone, it was able to modulate A beta production, as revealed by the observed increase of the non-amyloidogenic sAPP alpha in H4-SW cells. These findings suggest that compound 7 may represent a promising tool for investigating NMDAR-mediated neurotoxic events involving A beta burden and oxidative damage. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.