What: Scientists describe how the protein tau is modified over four decades as Alzheimer’s develops and progresses.
Where: Barthélemy NR, et al, “A Soluble Phosphorylated Tau Signature Links Tau, Amyloid and the Evolution of Stages of Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Disease,” Nature Medicine, 2020
BrightFocus Connection: This project was supported by an Alzheimer’s Disease Research grant to senior author Randall Bateman, MD, Washington University School of Medicine.
To reach these findings, DIAN investigators studied tau molecules in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples collected from individuals with the early-onset, genetically linked types of AD (referred to as dominantly inherited AD). The results show that disease-associated forms of tau emerge as early as when Aβ starts to accumulate, decades before dementia symptoms begin. Ultimately these changes cause tau molecules to form “fibrils,” or slender threads that gather as tau tangles inside neurons, blocking the cellular transport system and disrupting brain signals.
Not long after these DIAN findings were published by Dr. Bateman and colleagues, other researchers described similar changes in tau arising early in sporadic (eg, non-inherited) forms of AD, an estimated 21 years before symptom. Together these findings provide evidence that tau changes may be an important biomarker of early AD, as well as a target of future treatments.
See also:
- Randall Bateman 2014-17 ADR grant profile
- Future Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease: Where Are They Headed? (2018)
Learn more about BrightFocus-funded research in this area.
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