The 3-(3-oxoisoindolin-1-yl)pentane-2,4-dione (ISOAC1) as a new molecule able to inhibit Amyloid β aggregation and neurotoxicity

Amyloid beta 1-42 (A beta(1-42)) protein aggregation is considered one of the main triggers of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we examined the in vitro anti-amyloidogenic activity of the isoindolinone derivative 3-(3-oxoisoindolin-1-yl)pentane-2,4-dione (ISOAC1) and its neuroprotective potential against the A beta(1-42) toxicity. By performing the Thioflavin T fluorescence assay, Western blotting analyses, and Circular Dichroism experiments, we found that ISOAC1 was able to reduce the A beta(1-42) aggregation and conformational transition towards beta-sheet structures. Interestingly, in silico studies revealed that ISOAC1 was able to bind to both the monomer and a pentameric protofibril of A beta(1-42), establishing a hydrophobic interaction with the PHE19 residue of the A beta(1-42) KLVFF motif. In vitro analyses on primary cortical neurons showed that ISOAC1 counteracted the increase of intracellular Ca2+ levels and decreased the A beta(1-42)-induced toxicity, in terms of mitochondrial activity reduction and increase of reactive oxygen species production. In addition, confocal microscopy analyses showed that ISOAC1 was able to reduce the A beta(1-42) intraneuronal accumulation. Collectively, our results clearly show that ISOAC1 exerts a neuroprotective effect by reducing the A beta(1-42) aggregation and toxicity, hence emerging as a promising compound for the development of new A beta-targeting therapeutic strategies for AD treatment.