Molecular Genetics and Transgenic Modeling of the Tauopathies

Tau belongs to a family of proteins known as microtubule-associated proteins. Involved in microtubule assembly and stabilization in neurons and probably glia, tau is important for the maintenance of the cytoskeleton. Although tau is normally localized mainly in the axons, where it plays a role in axonal motorprotein transport, somatodendritic localization of tau is thought to occur during tau dysfunction. This altered localization of tau is characteristic of pre-tangle and neurofibrillary tangle inclusions found in neurons and occasionally glia in certain neurodegenerative diseases. Neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein are key intracellular lesions in numerous neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease.