Exploring the therapeutic potential of prolinamides as multi-targeted agents for Alzheimer's disease treatment: molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation studies.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents a significant global health challenge, with its prevalence expected to rise sharply in the coming years. Despite extensive research, effective treatments addressing the multifaceted pathophysiology of AD remain elusive. This study investigates the therapeutic potential of twenty-seven prolinamides (P1 - P27), with the focus on their interactions with key proteins implicated in AD pathogenesis. Four of the compounds, namely; 10-((4-nitrophenyl)prolyl)-10 H-phenothiazine (P14), 2-((4-nitrophenyl)prolyl)isoindoline (P19), 1-(4-formylphenyl)-N-(p-tolyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (P22), and N,1-bis(4-nitrophenyl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide (P27) showed promising potential as Alzheimer's drug. In-silico approaches including molecular docking, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, post md study, physicochemical and drug-likeness parameters were employed to ascertain the potential of these compounds as inhibitors of certain proteins implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease. Molecular docking and dynamics simulations demonstrated that P14, P19, P22 and P27 exhibited promising binding affinities towards crucial AD-associated proteins, including Beta-Secretase 1 (BACE1), Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), and Tau-tubulin kinase 2 (TTBK2). Structural stability analyses revealed that prolinamides, particularly P22 and P27 for BACE1 and P14 and P19 for BuChE, exhibited greater stability than their reference ligands, indicated by lower RMSD, RoG, and RMSF values. For BuChE, Rivastigmine had a docking score of -7.0 kcal/mol, a binding free energy (ΔG_bind) of -22.19 ± 2.44 kcal/mol, RMSD of 1.361 ± 0.162 Å, RMSF of 9.357 ± 3.212 Å, and RoG of 22.919 ± 0.064 Å, whereas P19 exhibited a superior docking score of -10.3 kcal/mol, a significantly better ΔG_bind of -33.74 ± 2.84 kcal/mol, RMSD of 1.347 ± 0.132 Å, RMSF of 8.164 ± 2.748 Å, and RoG of 22.868 ± 0.070 Å. Physicochemical and pharmacokinetic assessments affirmed the drug-likeness and bioavailability of P19 notably capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier. Compounds P19 and P22, emerged as multi-targeted ligands, offering the potential for simultaneous modulation of multiple AD-related pathways. These findings highlight the possibilities of these compounds to be explored as novel therapeutic agents for AD. They also highlight the need for further experimental validation to confirm their efficacy and safety profiles, advancing them toward clinical application in AD management.

Graphical abstract:

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40203-024-00250-z.