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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 5, 3628-3635, February 4, 2005

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Anthraquinones Inhibit Tau Aggregation and Dissolve Alzheimer's Paired Helical Filaments in Vitro and in Cells^*

Marcus Pickhardt, Zuzana Gazova, Martin von Bergen, Inna Khlistunova, Yipeng Wang, Antje Hascher, Eva-Maria Mandelkow, Jacek Biernat, and Eckhard Mandelkow

From the Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany

The abnormal aggregation of tau protein into paired helical filaments (PHFs) is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Aggregation takes place in the cytoplasm and could therefore be cytotoxic for neurons. To find inhibitors of PHF aggregation we screened a library of 200,000 compounds. The hits found in the PHF inhibition assay were also tested for their ability to dissolve preformed PHFs. The results were obtained using a thioflavin S fluorescence assay for the detection and quantification of tau aggregation in solution, a tryptophan fluorescence assay using tryptophan-containing mutants of tau, and confirmed by a pelleting assay and electron microscopy of the products. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of the approach with several compounds from the family of anthraquinones, including emodin, daunorubicin, adriamycin, and others. They were able to inhibit PHF formation with IC₅₀ values of 1–5 µM and to disassemble preformed PHFs at DC₅₀ values of 2–4 µM. The compounds had a similar activity for PHFs made from different tau isoforms and constructs. The compounds did not interfere with the stabilization of microtubules by tau. Tau-inducible neuroblastoma cells showed the formation of tau aggregates and concomitant cytotoxicity, which could be prevented by inhibitors. Thus, small molecule inhibitors could provide a basis for the development of tools for the treatment of tau pathology in AD and other tauopathies.

Received for publication, September 24, 2004 , and in revised form, November 2, 2004.

^* This work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschaft and the Institute on the Study of Aging. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 49-40-89982810; Fax: 49-40-89716822; E-mail: mandelkow{at}mpasmb.desy.de.

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