Inhibition of the Self-Assembly of Aβ and of Tau by Polyphenols: Mechanistic Studies

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 12; p. 2316
• Main Authors: Zheng, Qiuchen, Kebede, Micheal T, Kemeh, Merc M, Islam, Saadman, Lee, Bethany, Bleck, Stuart D, Wurfl, Liliana A, Lazo, Noel D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-06-2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Amino acids; amyloid assemblies; Amyloid beta-Peptides - chemistry; Amyloid beta-Peptides - metabolism; amyloid-β self-assembly; Animals; Antioxidants; Bioavailability; Biological effects; Cancer; Dementia; Dementia disorders; Drug therapy; Enzymes; Epigallocatechin-3-gallate; Flavonoids; Humans; Laboratory animals; Lipophilic; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; neurofibrillary tangles; Partial pressure; Peptides; Phosphorylation; Polyphenols; Polyphenols - chemistry; Polyphenols - pharmacology; Protein Aggregates - drug effects; Protein Aggregation, Pathological - drug therapy; Protein Binding; Protein Multimerization - drug effects; Proteins; Review; Self-assembly; Structure-Activity Relationship; tau hyperphosphorylation; Tau protein; tau Proteins - chemistry; tau Proteins - metabolism; tau self-assembly; polyphenols; tau hyperphosphorylation; amyloid-β self-assembly; neurofibrillary tangles; Alzheimer′s disease; tau self-assembly; amyloid assemblies
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24122316

The amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and tau protein are thought to play key neuropathogenic roles in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Both Aβ and tau self-assemble to form the two major pathological hallmarks of AD: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, respectively. In this review, we show that naturally occurring polyphenols abundant in fruits, vegetables, red wine, and tea possess the ability to target pathways associated with the formation of assemblies of Aβ and tau. Polyphenols modulate the enzymatic processing of the amyloid-β precursor protein and inhibit toxic Aβ oligomerization by enhancing the clearance of Aβ42 monomer, modulating monomer-monomer interactions and remodeling oligomers to non-toxic forms. Additionally, polyphenols modulate tau hyperphosphorylation and inhibit tau β-sheet formation. The anti-Aβ-self-assembly and anti-tau-self-assembly effects of polyphenols increase their potential as preventive or therapeutic agents against AD, a complex disease that involves many pathological mechanisms.