title: Advances in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease: focusing on tau-mediated neurodegeneration.
abstract: In addition to senile plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy, the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and formation of intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) represents another neuropathological hallmark in AD brain. Tau is a microtubule-associated protein and localizes predominantly in the axons of neurons with the primary function in maintaining microtubules stability. When the balance between tau phosphorylation and dephosphorylation is changed in favor of the former, tau is hyperphosphorylated and the level of the free tau fractions elevated. The hyperphosphorylation of tau protein and formation of NFTs represent a characteristic neuropathological feature in AD brain. We have discussed the role of Aβ in AD in our previous review, this review focused on the recent advances in tau-mediated AD pathology, mainly including tau hyperphosphorylation, propagation of tau pathology and the relationship between tau and Aβ.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, East China Normal University, 3663 Zhongshan Road (N), Shanghai 200062, China. zzhao@brain.ecnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yale
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Suzhen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Yinghe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao