Sigma Receptor Ligands Are Potent Antiprion Compounds that Act Independently of Sigma Receptor Binding.

ABSTRACT: Prion diseases are invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases of humans and other animals for which there are no effective treatment options. Previous work from our laboratory identified phenethylpiperidines as a novel class of anti-prion compounds. While working to identify the molecular target(s) of these molecules, we unexpectedly discovered ten novel antiprion compounds based on their known ability to bind to the sigma receptors, σ₁R and σ₂R, which are currently being tested as therapeutic or diagnostic targets for cancer and neuropsychiatric disorders. Surprisingly, however, knockout of the respective genes encoding σ₁R and σ₂R (Sigmar1 and Tmem97) in prion-infected N2a cells did not alter the antiprion activity of these compo

SUBMITTER: Mercer RCC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12172621 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature