海南大学科研团队在阿尔茨海默病新药研发上取得突破

Core Insights - Hainan University’s pharmaceutical research team has made significant progress in developing new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) through multi-target drug design and AI-assisted screening [1][2] - The research focuses on butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) as a critical compensatory target, which may provide a new direction for AD drug development [1] Group 1 - The traditional drugs targeting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) only provide short-term symptom relief, while BuChE levels significantly increase as the disease progresses, making it a more critical target [1] - The research team successfully identified a candidate compound, 8e, which significantly improved cognitive behavioral impairments in both zebrafish and transgenic mouse models of AD [1] - Compared to traditional AChE-targeting drugs, BuChE inhibitors are expected to more effectively alleviate the disease progression [1] Group 2 - A library of 156 natural compounds with anti-AD activity was constructed, and an AI-enhanced virtual library was created, leading to the rapid identification of lead compounds from 389 molecules [2] - The multi-target compound "3c" was developed, which not only effectively inhibits BuChE but also possesses multiple functions such as anti-Aβ protein aggregation, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects [2] - The research team plans to continue targeting BuChE, integrating AI technology and pharmacological validation to explore safer and more effective candidate drugs for Alzheimer’s disease [2]