4-Substituted Catechol Tau Aggregation Inhibitor

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current tau aggregation inhibitors are insufficient in inhibiting tau aggregation in cells, which limits their effectiveness in treating tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease.

Innovation Solution

A tau aggregation inhibitor comprising a 4-substituted catechol structure compound with an electron-donating substituent at position 4 of its catechol ring, or its salt, which effectively prevents and treats tauopathies by suppressing tau aggregation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional tau aggregation inhibitors (naphtho quinone compounds, catechol rings, hydroxytyrosol) are used, then some inhibition of tau aggregation is achieved, but the inhibition is insufficient to properly treat tauopathies

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveeffectiveness of tau aggregation inhibitionVSAvoidmolecular structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the catechol ring structure by introducing specific substituents at defined positions (4-position with electron-donating groups, 3-position with electron-withdrawing groups) to optimize tau aggregation inhibition effectiveness. This systematic parameter change in molecular structure transforms conventional inhibitors with insufficient activity into compounds that effectively suppress tau aggregation in cells, directly resolving the reliability issue while maintaining reasonable structural complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The invention creates composite molecular structures by combining multiple functional groups (electron-donating substituents, electron-withdrawing substituents, catechol ring) into a single integrated compound. This composite approach synergistically enhances the inhibition capability beyond what individual components achieve alone, enabling effective tau aggregation suppression that conventional single-function compounds cannot achieve

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Data Source

PatentEP2962687B1Tau aggregation inhibitor
Publication Date: 2019.06.05 DOSHISHA UNIVERSITY
  • EP2962687B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP2962687B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5
  • EP2962687B1 patent drawingFigure 6~7

AI summary

Provided is a tau aggregation inhibitor which can sufficiently inhibit a tau protein from aggregating in cells. The inhibitor includes a 4-substituted catechol structure compound, having, at position 4 of its catechol ring, an electron-donating substituent R other than a hydrocarbon group, or a salt thereof The 4-substituted catechol structure compound is preferably 4-aminocatechol or 1,2,4-benzenetriol. Examples of tauopathies to which this inhibitor is applicable include AD, Down's syndrome, frontotemporal dementia, cotricobasal degeneration (CBD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).