A distinct form of tau is selectively incorporated into Alzheimer's paired helical filaments.
Tau, a microtubule-associated phosphoprotein, was identified as a definite component of paired helical filaments which progressively accumulate in Alzheimer's disease brain. To learn more about tau in the aged brain, we have isolated and sequenced a cDNA clone encoding tau from a cDNA library of an aged human brain. The cloned cDNA sequence included a new insert of 93 nucleotides, which added a fourth repeat to the three-repeat type of tau already reported. Perhaps, this four-repeat type of tau is predominant in normal aged brain. In contrast, the sequence analysis of paired helical filaments showed that the integrated tau is of three-repeat type. This indicates that a distinct form of tau is selectively incorporated into paired helical filaments.
Mori
H
H
2nd Laboratory of Clinical Physiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Japan.
Hamada
Y
Y
Kawaguchi
M
M
Honda
T
T
Kondo
J
J
Ihara
Y
Y
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012016:Reference Values; D016875:tau Proteins
D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016875:tau Proteins; D004247:DNA