Cited by 1,588Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsMicrotubule and mitosis dynamicsNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

The distribution of tau in the mammalian central nervous system.

Open access
Binder, L I, Frankfurter, A, Rebhun, L I·1985·The Journal of cell biology

Abstract

We have determined the biochemical and immunocytochemical localization of the heterogeneous microtubule-associated protein tau using a monoclonal antibody that binds to all of the tau polypeptides in both bovine and rat brain. Using immunoblot assays and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, we have shown tau to be more abundant in bovine white matter extracts and microtubules than in extracts and microtubules from an enriched gray matter region of the brain. On a per mole basis, twice-cycled microtubules from white matter contained three times more tau than did twice-cycled microtubules from gray matter. Immunohistochemical studies that compared the localization of tau with that of MAP2 and tubulin demonstrated that tau was restricted to axons, extending the results of the biochemical studies. Tau localization was not observed in glia, which indicated that, at least in brain, tau is neuron specific. These observations indicate that tau may help define a subpopulation of microtubules that is restricted to axons. Furthermore, the monoclonal antibody described in this report should prove very useful to investigators studying axonal sprouting and growth because it is an exclusive axonal marker.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1083/jcb.101.4.1371

Cites

3 of 3 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Tau is predominantly expressed in cortical and hippocampal neurons, with expression also in oligodendrocytes and astrocytes.

    “Tau is predominantly expressed in cortical and hippocampal neurons [5–7], although there is also expression in other cell types such as oligodendrocytes and astrocytes [8, 9].”

    From Tau Ablation Rewires Brain Cell Programs in Health and Restores Function in Disease (2026) · cites this paper as [7]

    The Results (p. 1374) locate tau mainly in neuronal axons, supporting the neuronal part of the claim. The paper examines the medulla, substantia nigra, and cerebellum, but does not establish predominant expression in cortical or hippocampal neurons. The glial-cell clause has separate citations [8, 9] and is not attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Binder, L. I., Frankfurter, A., & Rebhun, L. I.
Venue
The Journal of cell biology
Published
1985-10-01
Volume
101
Issue
4
Pages
1371-1378
ISSN
  • 0021-9525 (ISSN-L)
  • 1540-8140
OpenAlex
W1994030229
Cited by
1,588
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 59 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 40 · 2013: 27 · 2012: 37
FWCI
30.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc-sa
Locations
  • The Journal of Cell Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS 17588)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
Keywords
tau protein, microtubule-associated proteins, axons, white matter, gray matter, microtubules, neuron-specific proteins, MAP2, tubulin, monoclonal antibodies, axonal sprouting, central nervous system
MeSH terms
Animals, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Axons, Brain Chemistry, Cattle, Immunologic Techniques, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Microtubule-Associated Proteins, Microtubules, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Neuroglia, Tubulin, tau Proteins, Mice, Rats

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review