Positive Allosteric Modulator of SERCA Pump NDC-1173 Exerts Beneficial Effects in Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of people worldwide. AD does not have a cure and most drug development efforts in the AD field have been focused on targeting the amyloid pathway based on the “amyloid cascade hypothesis”. However, in addition to the amyloid pathway, substantial evidence also points to dysregulated neuronal calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling as one of the key pathogenic events in AD, and it has been proposed that pharmacological agents that stabilize neuronal Ca²⁺ signaling may act as disease-modifying agents in AD. In previous studies, we demonstrated that positive allosteric regulators (PAMs) of the Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ ATPase (SERCA) pump might act as such Ca²⁺ stabilizing agents. In the present study, we report the development of a novel SERCA PAM agent, compound NDC-1173. To test the effectiveness of this compound, we performed behavioral studies with the APP/PS1 transgenic AD mouse model. We also evaluated effects of this compound on expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress genes in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice. The results of this study support the hypothesis that the SERCA pump is a potential novel therapeutic drug target and that NDC-1173 is a promising lead molecule for developing disease-modifying agents in AD.