Identification of Potential Multitarget Directed Ligands for Alzheimer’s Disease by Coupling Virtual Screening and Experimental Validation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder (NDD) associated with the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques (βA), oxidative stress, and a decrease in cholinergic activity among other pathologies. Given the limitations of current treatments, multitarget strategies present a promising alternative. In this study we prioritized six AD-related protein targets: acetylcholinesterase (AChE), beta-secretase 1 (BACE-1), cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2), glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3β), monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), and the neuronal acetylcholine receptor subunit alpha-7 (nAChR7). Ligand- and structure-based virtual screening methods were applied to identify potential multitarget directed ligands (MTDLs), reducing an initial database of 14 million compounds to 21 early stage candidate MTDLs, that were tested experimentally against AChE, BACE-1, GSK-3β, MAO-A, nAChR7, and the additional targets BChE and MAO-B; however, CB2 could not be experimentally assessed. Among the tested molecules, PJ17 exhibited a dual-target profile with submicromolar activity against AChE and GSK-3β, while PJ11 showed notable MAO-B inhibition. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed key common interactions between PJ17 and those targets providing insights into its potential for further hit-to-lead optimization. In addition, PJ17 showed a safe profile in cellular primary culture suggesting its use as a template to design multitarget drugs against AD.