Title:Multifunctional Ligands with Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Inhibitory Activity as a New Direction in Drug Research for Alzheimer’s Disease
Volume: 28
Issue: 9
Author(s): Agnieszka Jankowska, Grzegorz Satała, Andrzej J. Bojarski, Maciej Pawłowski and GraŻyna Chłoń-Rzepa*
Affiliation:
- Jagiellonian University Medical College, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, 9 Medyczna Street, 30-688 Krakow,Poland
Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease, GSK3β, GSK3β inhibitors, memory impairment, multifunctional ligands, neuroinflammation,
procognitive activity.
Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) belongs to the most common forms of dementia that
causes a progressive loss of brain cells and leads to memory impairment and decline of other
thinking skills. There is yet no effective treatment for AD; hence, the search for new drugs
that could improve memory and other cognitive functions is one of the hot research topics
worldwide. Scientific efforts are also directed toward combating behavioral and psychological
symptoms of dementia, which are an integral part of the disease. Several studies have indicated
that glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of
AD. Moreover, GSK3β inhibition provided beneficial effects on memory improvement in
multiple animal models of AD. The present review aimed to update the most recent reports on
the discovery of novel multifunctional ligands with GSK3β inhibitory activity as potential
drugs for the symptomatic and disease-modifying therapy of AD. Compounds with GSK3β
inhibitory activity seem to be an effective pharmacological approach for treating the causes
and symptoms of AD as they reduced neuroinflammation and pathological hallmarks in animal
models of AD and provided relief from cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. These
compounds have the potential to be used as drugs for the treatment of AD, but their precise
pharmacological, pharmacokinetic, toxicological and clinical profiles need to be defined.