title: Tau and neuron aging.
abstract: Tau protein could appear like a family of multiple isoforms rising by alternative splicing of its nuclear RNA or by different posttranslational modifications. The levels (or proportion) of these different tau isoforms could change in different neurons during development, aging or disease (tauopathies) in mammals. It is discussed that in some disorders there is a gain of toxic function of modified tau, due to the phosphorylation or aggregation of tau protein. These phenotypic changes are mainly found in aging organisms. On the other hand, loss of tau function could facilitate the appearance of some defects (related to iron toxicity) in aging animals lacking tau.
authors: Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, 28049 Madrid, Spain. ;  Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Spain.
authors: Jesus
authors: J
authors: Avila
authors: Elena Gomez
authors: EG
authors: de Barreda
authors: Noemi
authors: N
authors: Pallas-Bazarra
authors: Felix
authors: F
authors: Hernandez
keywords: Alzheimer disease; Tau isoforms; posttranslational modifications