Gapdh cascade inhibitor compounds and methods of use and treatment of stress induced disorders including mental illness

Abstract

In DN-DISC1 mice, a mouse model for major mental illnesses, the model that expresses pathological phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia, mood disorders, and addiction simultaneously, the inventors of the present invention found pronounced levels of oxidative stress in the prefrontal cortex, but not in the striatum. These mice also displayed greater amounts of GAPDH-Siah1 binding, a protein-protein interaction that is activated under exposure to oxidative stress. The present inventors investigated the role of oxidative stress in other organ systems. As detailed herein, the inventors found that GAPDH-Siah1 binding was increased in mouse models of cardiac failure. It was also found, that certain novel analogs of deprenyl, significantly inhibited GAPDH-Siah1 binding in cardiac tissue. Thus, with experimental data provided herein, it is clear that this GAPDH-Siah1 binding cascade is a crucial mechanism involved in major mental illness, such as schizophrenia, mood disorders, and addiction, as well as in stress-associated diseases involving other organs where GAPDH is expressed. The present invention provides compounds and composition comprising analogs of deprenyl and their use in the inhibition of nuclear GAPDH-Siah1 binding and the activation of p300 and MEF2. Also provided herein are methods of prevention and treatment of stress induced disorders of the body, including, for example, major mental illness, such as schizophrenia, mood disorders, and addiction, as well as in stress-associated diseases involving other organs, such as cardiac hypertrophy, in vivo, comprising administering to a mammal a therapeutically effective amount of analogs of deprenyl.