LAUSR

Meclofenoxate (centrophenoxine) is a nootropic drug that has shown beneficial therapeutic effects in several neuronal disorders including Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, tardive dyskinesia, and cerebral ischemia. Administration of meclofenoxate led to increased dopamine levels and improved motor skills in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD). As aggregation of α-synuclein is associated with the progression of PD, this work studied the effect of the addition of meclofenoxate on the aggregation of α-synuclein in vitro. Incubation of α-synuclein with meclofenoxate led to lowering aggregation in a concentration-dependent manner. Fluorescence quenching studies revealed that the additive distorted the native conformation of α-synuclein, leading to the formation of a lower amount of aggregation-prone species. Our study provides a mechanistic explanation of the earlier observation that meclofenoxate has a beneficial effect on the progression of PD in animal models.