Multitarget evaluation of molecules from marine animals against Alzheimer's disease, related to gamma‐ and beta‐secretases and cathepsin B protein targets

One of the causes for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the secretase activity on the APP protein, producing ß‐amyloid peptides (Aß) that aggregate and accumulate in regions of the brain, causing cell death (WAKABAYASHI; STROOPER, 2008). Secretase (β and γ) inhibitors have been studied as an alternative to treatment, but they have exhibited toxicity or ineffectiveness; however, these enzymes are still considered potentially effective therapeutic targets. Besides these inhibitors, cathepsin B is considered another possible inhibitory target for its involvement in protein clearance and neuroinflammation (CHITRANSHI et al, 2021). Thus, this work aimed to analyze, by virtual screening, the inhibition of such enzymes, among molecules described from marine animals, in order to obtain a new prototype for amyloid plaques decrease.