Analysis of tauopathies with transgenic mice.
Intraneuronal filamentous inclusions composed of the microtubule-associated protein tau are a feature of several neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer's disease) known as tauopathies. A pivotal finding was the identification in 1998 of mutations in tau associated with frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17. This demonstrated that tau dysfunction is sufficient to cause neurodegeneration, and indicated that tau is likely to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of other tauopathies. However, the mechanism by which tau filamentous lesions form and their role in neurodegeneration remains uncertain. Recent progress in the development of transgenic mouse models of human tauopathy is allowing these questions to be addressed.
Hutton
M
M
Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL, USA. hutton.michael@mayo.edu
Lewis
J
J
Dickson
D
D
Yen
S H
SH
McGowan
E
E
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009454:Neurofibrils / Q000473:pathology; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024801:Tauopathies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics; D015854:Up-Regulation; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
C054369:MAPT protein, human; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D016875:tau Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; C080888:tau-protein kinase