Cited by 806Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Tau and neurodegenerative disease: the story so far

Iqbal, Khalid, Liu, Fei, Gong, Cheng-Xin·2016·Nature Reviews Neurology

Abstract

In 1975, tau protein was isolated as a microtubule-associated factor from the porcine brain. In the previous year, a paired helical filament (PHF) protein had been identified in neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD), but it was not until 1986 that the PHF protein and tau were discovered to be one and the same. In the AD brain, tau was found to be abnormally hyperphosphorylated, and it inhibited rather than promoted in vitro microtubule assembly. Almost 80 disease-causing exonic missense and intronic silent mutations in the tau gene have been found in familial cases of frontotemporal dementia but, to date, no such mutation has been found in AD. The first phase I clinical trial of an active tau immunization vaccine in patients with AD was recently completed. Assays for tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma are now available, and tau radiotracers for PET are under development. In this article, we provide an overview of the pivotal discoveries in the tau research field over the past 40 years. We also review the current status of the field, including disease mechanisms and therapeutic approaches.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nrneurol.2015.225

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Authors
Iqbal, K., Liu, F., & Gong, C.-X.
Corresponding author
Iqbal, Khalid
Venue
Nature Reviews Neurology
Published
2015-12-04
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
15-27
ISSN
  • 1759-4758 (ISSN-L)
  • 1759-4766
OpenAlex
W2189621653
Cited by
806
References
197
Citations by year
2026: 52 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 93 · 2020: 85 · 2019: 71 · 2018: 96 · 2017: 72 · 2016: 39 · 2012: 1
FWCI
8.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
tau protein, neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease, tau hyperphosphorylation, paired helical filaments, neurofibrillary tangles, frontotemporal dementia, tau mutations, tau biomarkers, cerebrospinal fluid, microtubule assembly
MeSH terms
Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Brain, DNA Mutational Analysis, Humans, Protein Processing, Post-Translational, Neurofibrillary Tangles, tau Proteins, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Tauopathies, Biomedical Research, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fyn, Frontotemporal Dementia

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