The drugs currently used to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are limited in the benefits they confer, and no medication has been clearly proven to cure or delay the progression of AD. Most candidate AD drugs are meant to reduce the production, aggregation, and toxicity of amyloid β (Aβ) or to promote Aβ clearance. Herein, we demonstrate the efficient synthesis of hydroxyl-functionalized stilbene and 2-arylbenzo[b]furan derivatives and report on the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of these phenolic compounds in vitro and in an animal model. Structure–activity relationships revealed that the presence of an acrylate group on 2-arylbenzo[b]furan confers neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Furthermore, compounds 11 and 37 in this study showed particular potential for development as disease-modifying anti-Alzheimer’s drugs, based on their neuroprotective effects on neuron cells, their antineuroinflammatory effects on glial cells, and the ability to ameliorate nesting behavior in APP/PS1 mice. These results indicate that 2-arylbenzo[b]furans could be candidate compounds for the treatment of AD.

中文翻译：

---

羟基官能化的对苯二酚和2-芳基苯并[ b ]呋喃的神经保护和抗神经炎作用

当前用于治疗阿尔茨海默氏病（AD）的药物在其带来的益处方面受到限制，并且没有任何药物被明确证明可以治愈或延缓AD的发展。大多数候选AD药物旨在减少淀粉样蛋白β（Aβ）的产生，聚集和毒性，或促进Aβ清除。在此，我们证明了羟基官能化的1,2-二苯乙烯和2-芳基苯并[ b ]呋喃衍生物的有效合成，并报道了这些酚类化合物在体外和动物模型中的神经保护作用和抗炎作用。结构-活性关系表明，2-芳基苯并[ b ]呋喃上的丙烯酸酯基团具有神经保护和抗炎作用。此外，化合物11和37这项研究基于对神经元细胞的神经保护作用，对神经胶质细胞的抗神经炎作用以及改善APP / PS1小鼠筑巢行为的能力，显示出作为疾病缓解性抗阿尔茨海默氏病药物的特殊开发潜力。这些结果表明2-芳基苯并[ b ]呋喃可能是治疗AD的候选化合物。