title: Tau-66: evidence for a novel tau conformation in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: We have characterized a novel monoclonal antibody, Tau-66, raised against recombinant human tau. Immunohistochemistry using Tau-66 reveals a somatic-neuronal stain in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) that is more intense in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain than in normal brain. In hippocampus, Tau-66 yields a pattern similar to STG, except that neurofibrillary lesions are preferentially stained if present. In mild AD cases, Tau-66 stains plaques lacking obvious dystrophic neurites (termed herein 'diffuse reticulated plaques') in STG and the hippocampus. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis reveals that Tau-66 is specific for tau, as there is no cross-reactivity with MAP2, tubulin, Abeta(1-40), or Abeta(1-42), although Tau-66 fails to react with tau or any other polypeptide on western blots. The epitope of Tau-66, as assessed by ELISA testing of tau deletion mutants, appears discontinuous, requiring residues 155-244 and 305-314. Tau-66 reactivity exhibits buffer and temperature sensitivity in an ELISA format and is readily abolished by SDS treatment. Taken together these lines of evidence indicate that the Tau-66 epitope is conformation-dependent, perhaps involving a close interaction of the proline-rich and the third microtubule-binding regions. This is the first indication that tau can undergo this novel folding event and that this conformation of tau is involved in AD pathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA. nupur@md.northwestern.edu
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghoshal
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: García-Sierra
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Beckett
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Mufson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuret
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Binder
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008875:Middle Aged; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000939:Epitopes; C430266:Tau-66; D016875:tau Proteins