A Comparative Study between Lycorine and Galantamine Abilities to Interact with AMYLOID β and Reduce In Vitro Neurotoxicity

Abstract

Galantamine is a natural alkaloid extracted from the Amaryllidaceae plants and is used as the active ingredient of a drug approved for the treatment of the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. It mainly acts as an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, increasing concentrations of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter. Recent cellular studies have also shown the ability of galantamine to protect SH-SY5Y cell lines against amyloid-β (Aβ)-induced toxicity. Such investigations have supported and validated further in-depth studies for understanding the chemical and molecular features associated with galantamine-protective abilities. In addition to galantamine, other natural alkaloids are known to possess AChE inhibitory activity; among them lycorine has been extensively investigated for its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antitumoral activities as well. Despite its interesting biological properties, lycorine’s neuroprotective functions against Aβ-induced damages have not been explored so far. In this research study, the ability of galantamine and lycorine to suppress Aβ-induced in vitro neuronal toxicity was evaluated by investigating the chemical interactions of the two alkaloids with Aβ peptide. A multi-technique spectroscopic analysis and cellular cytotoxicity assays were applied to obtain new insights on these molecular associations. The comparison between the behaviors exhibited by the two alkaloids indicates that both compounds possess analogue abilities to interact with the amyloidogenic peptide and protect cells.

KNeMAP: a network mapping approach for knowledge-driven comparison of transcriptomic profiles

“…All identified pairs are listed in Supplementary Table S5 and detailed descriptions of selected pairs are provided in the Supplementary Materials (Results—Identifying the Most Similar Chemical for each Nanomaterial Based on their Mechanism of Action). For example a copper oxide nanomaterial was found to act similar to Lycorine and both have been shown to affect acetylcholinesterase and in result the nervous system ( Sezer Tuncsoy et al 2019 , Kola et al 2023 ).…”

Innovative Cyanine-Based Fluorescent Dye for Targeted Mitochondrial Imaging and Its Utility in Whole-Brain Visualization

“…Aβ peptides have been identified as the cause of dendritic degeneration and loss of synapses, which ultimately leads to neuronal death in the rat hippocampus . Additionally, in vitro studies using cells from PC12 cells (rat pheochromocytoma , and SH-SY5Y cells) , (human neuroblastoma) have demonstrated that extracellular fibrillar aggregates of Aβ peptides are neurotoxic. However, these cells are unsuitable for neurodegenerative disease research due to their instability and inability to create a diverse population of neurons.…”

Targeting and Imaging Mitochondria with a Novel Cyanine-based Fluorescent Dye and Its Application to Whole Brain Imaging

“…Aβ peptides have been identified as the cause of dendritic degeneration and loss of synapses, which ultimately leads to neuronal death in the rat hippocampus. 12 Additionally, in vitro studies using cells from PC12 cells (rat pheochromocytoma 14,15 and SH-SY5Y cells 16,17 (human neuroblastoma) have demonstrated that extracellular fibrillar aggregates of Aβ peptides are neurotoxic. However, these cells are unsuitable for neurodegenerative disease research due to their instability and inability to create a diverse population of neurons.…”