New research has revealed how the tau protein, a critical element in the formation of Alzheimer’s disease, is also involved in normal learning processes in the healthy brain — potentially providing a focal point for future drug therapies.
In the study, published in The EMBO Journal, Flinders University researchers have provided new insights into the tau protein, whose role has long been enigmatic, finding it may help molecular processes of memory formation.
Employing a sensitive method named proximity labelling, the team aimed to identify all proteins that tau comes in contact with within brain cells, labelling and identifying the whole collection of interacting proteins as they went.
Looking at the collection of proteins that interact with tau, and which specific functions these interactions support, the researchers found that while tau binds to proteins supporting brain cell…
