Tau

Referenced definition

“Tau is a microtubule-associated protein, which is widely expressed in the central nervous system, predominantly in neurons, where it regulates microtubule dynamics, axonal transport, and neurite outgrowth.”
Source: Chambraud B, Sardin E, Giustiniani J, Baulieu EE. A role for FKBP52 in Tau protein function. PNAS. 2010;107(6):2658-2663.

Context

“Neurodegenerative diseases with abnormal tau inclusions are referred to as tauopathies, including Alzheimer disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17 (FTDP-17), Pick disease (PiD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD).”

Source: Gao YL, Wang N, Sun FR, Cao XP, Zhang W, Yu JT. Tau in neurodegenerative disease. Annals of Translational Medicine. 2018;6(10):175.

Note

• “Tau” stands for “Tubulin-associated unit”.
• In Alzheimer deases, Tau proteins detach from a neuron’s skeleton (microtubules), accumulate inside the neuron, and form tangles, which causes that skeleton to fall apart, prevents the neuron from making connections with other neurons, and leads to its death.