Biology subjects

Acquarone, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Acquarone, E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

The Highly Selective 5-HT2B Receptor Antagonist MW073 Mitigates Aggressive Behavior in an Alzheimer Disease Mouse Model.

1.Alzheimers disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of dementia worldwide. Progressive synaptic and neuronal loss underlies the decline in cognition and daily functioning, often accompanied by behavioral and psychological symptoms. Among these, neuropsychiatric disturbances such as agitation and aggression affect 20-65% of patients and represent a major source of caregiver burden. The serotonin receptor antagonist MW073 has recently emerged as a potential therapeutic candidate, showing efficacy in counteracting A{beta}- and tau-induced synaptic and memory deficits in AD mouse models. Here, we investigated whether MW073 also mitigates aggressive behavior in Tg2576 mice, a widely used AD model that also displays heightened aggressiveness. Our findings demonstrate that MW073 significantly reduced aggressive tendencies in Tg2576 mice, suggesting that serotonergic modulation may represent a promising strategy to address both cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms of AD.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Epigenetic Shifts Reveal Alzheimer's Origins after Sustained Picomolar Aβ Exposure

Recent advances in sequencing have identified genetic risk factors for Alzheimers disease (AD), but the molecular mechanisms triggering disease onset remain unclear. While high brain levels of amyloid-beta (A{beta}) impair synaptic function and memory, exposure to low picomolar (pM) A{beta} concentrations - typical of healthy brains - enhances these functions, while sustained exposure results in impairment. To investigate this transition from physiological to pathological A{beta} activity, we profiled DNA methylation and gene expression in C57B16 mice subjected to prolonged pM A{beta}42 exposure. We identified differentially methylated and expressed genes, including those involved in synaptic function, associated with three phases: memory enhancement (brief exposure), a transitional state with intact memory (intermediate), and memory decline (prolonged). These gene sets may represent early molecular drivers of AD pathogenesis.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

PP2A METHYLESTERASE, PME-1, AND PP2A METHYLTRANSFERASE, LCMT-1, CONTROL SENSITIVITY TO IMPAIRMENTS CAUSED BY INJURY-RELATED OLIGOMERIC TAU

Oligomeric species of tau are a hallmark of multiple neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease (AD) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Given the evidence implicating protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in the molecular pathogenesis of tau-related neurodegenerative disorders, we sought to determine whether manipulating the expression of enzymes that regulate PP2A activity, such as leucine carboxyl methyltransferase 1 (LCMT-1) and protein methyl esterase 1 (PME-1), might impact pathological responses to oligomeric tau. Here, we tested the effect of transgenic overexpression of LCMT-1 or PME-1 on cognitive and electrophysiological impairments caused by exposure to either recombinant oligomeric human tau or oligomeric tau prepared from mice subjected to blast-induced traumatic brain injury. We found that overexpression of LCMT-1 reduced sensitivity to tau-induced impairments, while overexpression of PME-1 increased sensitivity to these impairments. Moreover, we found that shockwave exposure increased the propensity of endogenous tau to form toxic oligomers. These results suggest that manipulating LCMT-1 or PME-1 activity may represent novel therapeutic approaches for disorders involving exposure to pathogenic forms of oligomeric tau.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Design and Synthesis of Potent First-in-Class Histones Acetyltransferase Modulators.

Epigenetic regulation governs gene expression through histone modifications, particularly the acetylation of lysine residues. These modifications are orchestrated by enzymes such as histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Among them, p300 plays a critical role in various disorders such as neurodegenerative conditions (i.e. Alzheimers disease, and Alzheimers Disease related dementia) and cancer (i.e. glioblastoma and B cell lymphoma). Our aim is to develop therapeutic interventions for these ailments. In this context, we designed and synthesized novel activators of the enzyme. Using an in vitro screening approach combined with structural activity relationship analysis, we successfully identified compounds that modulate histone acetylation.

biochemistry↗