In our efforts to develop hybrid compounds of curcumin and melatonin as potential disease-modifying agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD), a potent lead hybrid compound, Z-CM-I-1, has been recently identified and biologically characterized in vitro. In this work, we report the in vivo effects of Z-CM-I-1 on AD pathologies in an APP/PS1 transgenic AD model. Our studies demonstrated that Z-CM-I-1 significantly decreased the accumulation of Aβ in the hippocampus and cortex regions of the brain and reduced inflammatory responses and oxidative stress after treatment for 12 weeks at 50 mg/kg per dose via oral administration. Furthermore, Z-CM-I-1 significantly improved synaptic dysfunction evidenced by the increased expression of synaptic marker proteins, PSD95 and synaptophysin, indicating its protective effects on synaptic degeneration. Lastly, we demonstrated that Z-CM-I-1 significantly increased the expression level of complexes I, II, and IV of the mitochondria electron transport chain in the brain tissue of APP/PS1 mice. Collectively, these results clearly suggest that Z-CM-I-1 is orally available and exhibits multifunctional properties in vivo on AD pathologies, thus strongly encouraging further development of this lead compound as a potential disease-modifying agent for AD patients.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Hybrid compounds; curcumin; melatonin; neuroprotectants.