title: A decade of tau transgenic animal models and beyond.
abstract: The first tau transgenic mouse model was established more than a decade ago. Since then, much has been learned about the role of tau in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Animal models, both in vertebrates and invertebrates, were significantly improved and refined as a result of the identification of pathogenic mutations in Tau in human cases of frontotemporal dementia. They have been instrumental for dissecting the cross-talk between tau and the second hallmark lesion of Alzheimer's disease, the Abeta peptide-containing amyloid plaque. We discuss how the tau models have been used to unravel the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease, to search for disease modifiers and to develop novel treatment strategies. While tau has received less attention than Abeta, it is rapidly acquiring a more prominent position and the emerging view is one of a synergistic action of Abeta and tau in Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, the existence of a number of neurodegenerative diseases with tau pathology in the absence of extracellular deposits underscores the relevance of research on tau.
authors.affiliation: Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Laboratory, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia. jgoetz@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Deters
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doldissen
authors.forename: Laita
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bokhari
authors.forename: Yazi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wiesner
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schonrock
authors.forename: Lars M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ittner
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004330:Drosophila; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016875:tau Proteins