title: Modulation of microtubule dynamics by tau in living cells: implications for development and neurodegeneration.
abstract: The neural microtubule-associated protein tau binds to and stabilizes microtubules. Because of alternative mRNA splicing, tau is expressed with either 3 or 4 C-terminal repeats. Two observations indicate that differences between these tau isoforms are functionally important. First, the pattern of tau isoform expression is tightly regulated during development. Second, mutation-induced changes in tau RNA splicing cause neuronal cell death and dementia simply by altering the isoform expression ratio. To investigate whether 3- and 4-repeat tau differentially regulate microtubule behavior in cells, we microinjected physiological levels of these two isoforms into EGFP-tubulin-expressing cultured MCF7 cells and measured the effects on the dynamic instability behavior of individual microtubules by time-lapse microscopy. Both isoforms suppressed microtubule dynamics, though to different extents. Specifically, 4-repeat tau reduced the rate and extent of both growing and shortening events. In contrast, 3-repeat tau stabilized most dynamic parameters about threefold less potently than 4-repeat tau and had only a minimal ability to suppress shortening events. These differences provide a mechanistic rationale for the developmental shift in tau isoform expression and are consistent with a loss-of-function model in which abnormal tau isoform expression results in the inability to properly regulate microtubule dynamics, leading to neuronal cell death and dementia.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Janis M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bunker
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: Stuart C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Feinstein
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D008845:Microinjections; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D020449:Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D016875:tau Proteins