Begacestat (GSI-953): a novel, selective thiophene sulfonamide inhibitor of amyloid precursor protein gamma-secretase for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
Bibliographic
Gamma secretase is widely regarded as a viable target to achieve therapeutically relevant reductions of Aβ in AD, and multiple classes of GSIs have been reported including peptidomimetics and sulfonamides. The goal of this study was to report on the pharmacological properties of the novel thiophene sulfonamide gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI), GSI-953,also known as begacestat.In summary, the preclinical data for GSI-953 demonstrate a potent Abeta lowering activity, with nano molar potency, and in vitro selectivity against Notch processing. Cellular assays of Notch cleavage reveal that this compound is approximately 16-fold selective for the inhibition of APP cleavage. In addition, the drug exhibited robust in vivo efficacy for the lowering of brain, CSF, and plasma Abeta levels and the reversal of Abeta-dependent cognitive deficits in Tg2576 mice. Finally the drug was found lower of plasma Abeta ( a potential biomarker) levels in humans. These data provide evidence supporting GSI-953 treatment as a potential disease modification in the development of AD.
Therapeutic Agent
Animal Model
Experimental Design
Toxicology studies in rats were balanced for gender. Gender was not reported for Tg2576 mouse efficacy studies (behavior and beta amyloid outcome measures).