title: Tau protein pathology in neurodegenerative diseases.
abstract: Abundant tau-positive neurofibrillary lesions constitute a defining neuropathological characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. Filamentous tau pathology is also central to a number of other dementing disorders, such as Pick's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration and familial frontotemporal dementia and Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). The discovery of mutations in the tau gene in FTDP-17 has firmly established the relevance of tau pathology for the neurodegenerative process. Experimental studies have provided a system for the assembly of full-length tau into Alzheimer-like filaments, providing an assay for the testing of compounds that inhabit the formation of tau filaments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Spillantini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goedert
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002886:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 / Q000235:genetics; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009454:Neurofibrils / Q000473:pathology; D017354:Point Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D016875:tau Proteins