Merocyanine derivative for real-time imaging of amyloid-β and inhibition of self-aggregation and MAO-B activity

Hua Liu; Shun Li; Xinrui Li; Shuanglong Li; Jiaqiang Wu; Daoyuan Chen; Chunli Xia

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2025.126582

Merocyanine derivative for real-time imaging of amyloid-β and inhibition of self-aggregation and MAO-B activity

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2025 Jun 18:343:126582. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2025.126582. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hua Liu¹, Shun Li¹, Xinrui Li¹, Shuanglong Li¹, Jiaqiang Wu², Daoyuan Chen³, Chunli Xia⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of bioengineering, Zhuhai Campus of Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai 519090, China.
² School of Pharmacy and Food Engineering, Wuyi University, Jiangmen 529020, China. Electronic address: wyuchemwjq@wyu.edu.cn.
³ School of bioengineering, Zhuhai Campus of Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai 519090, China. Electronic address: chendaoyuan@zmuzh.edu.cn.
⁴ School of bioengineering, Zhuhai Campus of Zunyi Medical University, Zhuhai 519090, China. Electronic address: xiachl@zmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 40577959
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2025.126582

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains an incurable neurodegenerative disorder with significant diagnostic challenges. The abnormal aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) and the dysregulated activity of Monoamine Oxidase B (MAO-B) are closely associated with the pathogenesis of AD and present promising targets for both diagnosis and treatment. Herein we synthesized a series of merocyanine derivatives as fluorescent probes for Aβ aggregates via donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) framework. Moreover, the pharmacophore selectively targeting MAO-B was introduced into the probes to realize simultaneous integration of diagnosis and therapy. Experiments results demonstrate that the representative probe LA4-1 exhibits low cytotoxicity and high-sensitivity imaging of Aβ aggregates in both cellular and AD mouse model. Remarkably, it inhibited Aβ aggregation and MAO-B activity, reaching 97 % and 89 %, respectively. Additionally, LA4-1 exhibited good MAO-B selectivity and antioxidant capability. Our findings confirm that LA4-1 not only possesses superior Aβ imaging capabilities, but also demonstrates versatile and effective multimodal drug actions. This research further lays a foundation for the creation of potent Aβ-targeted theranostic agents for AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid-β; MAO-B; Theranostic agents.