title: Protein phosphatase 2A is the major enzyme in brain that dephosphorylates tau protein phosphorylated by proline-directed protein kinases or cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.
abstract: The paired helical filament (PHF), which makes up the major fibrous component of the neurofibrillary lesions of Alzheimer's disease, is composed of hyperphosphorylated and abnormally phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau. Previous studies have identified serine and threonine residues phosphorylated in PHF-tau and have shown that tau can be phosphorylated at several of these sites by proline-directed protein kinases and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. Here we have investigated which protein phosphatase activities can dephosphorylate recombinant tau phosphorylated with mitogen-activated protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta, neuronal cdc2-like kinase, or cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase. We show that protein phosphatase 2A is by far the major protein phosphatase activity in brain that dephosphorylates tau phosphorylated in this manner.
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England, U.K.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goedert
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jakes
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D038461:Proline-Directed Protein Kinases; D054648:Protein Phosphatase 2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016875:tau Proteins; D038461:Proline-Directed Protein Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases; D054648:Protein Phosphatase 2