Discovery of novel butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors for treating Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder among the elderly, and BuChE has emerged as a potential therapeutic target. In this study, we reported the development of compound 8e, a selective reversible BuChE inhibitor (eqBuChE IC50 = 0.049 mmol/L, huBuChE IC50 = 0.066 mmol/L), identified through extensive virtual screening and lead optimization. Compound 8e demonstrated favorable blood-brain barrier permeability, good drug-likeness property and pronounced neuroprotective efficacy. Additionally, 8e exhibited significant therapeutic effects in zebrafish AD models and scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments in mice. Further, 8e significantly improved cognitive function in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Proteomics analysis demonstrated that 8e markedly elevated the expression levels of very low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR), offering valuable insights into its potential modulation of the Reelin-mediated signaling pathway. Thus, compound 8e emerges as a novel and potent BuChE inhibitor for the treatment of AD, with significant implications for further exploration into its mechanisms of action and therapeutic applications. <feminine ordinal indicator> 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).