Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Pivot Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Target Concepts:
Gene/Protein
Disease
Symptom
Drug
Enzyme
Compound
Query: UNIPROT:P10636 (
tau protein
)
5,110
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by neuronal cell death and two kinds of deposits, neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and senile plaques. The main component of NFT is paired helical filaments (PHF), which mainly consist of hyperphosphorylated
tau protein
. Tau protein kinases I and II were found as candidate enzymes responsible for hyperphosphorylation of tau to induce the formation of PHF. Since prior phosphorylation of tau by TPKII strongly enhanced the action of TPKI, it was thought that TPKII was involved in the formation of
PHF-tau
in concert with TPKI. After cloning, TPKI was found to be identical with glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3 beta), while TPKII consists of a novel 23 kDa protein activator and a catalytic subunit that is identical with cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5). The phosphorylation sites on tau by TPKI and TPKII could account for the most, but not all, of the major phosphorylation sites of fetal tau and
PHF-tau
. An antibody for a site specifically phosphorylated by TPKI (Ser413) could identify all three neurofibrillary lesions in the AD brain, and double staining for either TPKI or TPKII and NFT in the brain of Down's syndrome patients clearly demonstrated that TPKI and TPKII are both associated with NFT in vivo, suggesting that the level of TPKI or TPKII is elevated in AD brain by some mechanism. On the other hand, the levels of both TPKs change developmentally, being high in the neonatal period when the phosphorylation of fetal tau proceeds actively, suggesting that the TPKI/TPKII cooperative system has an important physiological role in the formation of neural networks. In AD brain, aberrant accumulation of
amyloid-beta protein
(A beta) occurs ahead of the accumulation of PHF in NFT. When a primary culture of embryonic rat hippocampus was treated with 20 microM A beta, induction of TPKI, extensive phosphorylation of tau and then programmed cell death were observed, indicating that TPKI induced by A beta phosphorylates tau, followed by disruption of axonal transportation and finally cell death. By using a yeast two hybrid system, TPKI was found to interact with pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), which is a key enzyme in the glycolytic pathway. PDH was phosphorylated in vitro by TPKI to reduce the activity converting pyruvate into acetyl-CoA, which is required for acetylcholine synthesis. In a primary culture of rat hippocampal cells treated with A beta, PDH was inactivated in inverse relation to the activation of TPKI, resulting in accumulation of pyruvate or lactate, energy failure induced by the disturbance of glucose metabolism, and a shortage of acetylcholine owing to deficiency of acetyl-CoA, all of which are characteristic of AD brain. In cholinergic neurons such as those of the septum, non-aggregated A beta, specifically A beta (1-42), not A beta (1-40), caused a shortage of acetylcholine by activation of TPKI and inactivation of PDH without cell death.
...
PMID:Physiology and pathology of tau protein kinases in relation to Alzheimer's disease. 908 87
Neurofibrillary lesions made of hyperphosphorylated
microtubule-associated protein tau
constitute not only one of the defining neuropathological features of
Alzheimer disease
but also are present in a number of other neurodegenerative diseases with dementia. Here we describe a novel autosomal dominant disease named familial "multiple system tauopathy with presenile dementia," which is characterized by abundant fibrillary deposits of
tau protein
in both neurons and glial cells. There are no detectable deposits of beta-amyloid. The tau deposits are in the form of twisted filaments that differ in diameter and periodicity from the paired helical filaments of
Alzheimer disease
. They are stained by both phosphorylation-independent and -dependent anti-tau antibodies. Moreover, tau immunoreactivity coexists with heparan sulfate in affected nerve and glial cells. Tau protein extracted from filaments of familial multiple system tauopathy with presenile dementia shows a minor 72-kDa band and two major bands of 64 and 68 kDa that contain mainly hyperphosphorylated four-repeat tau isoforms of 383 and 412 amino acids.
...
PMID:Familial multiple system tauopathy with presenile dementia: a disease with abundant neuronal and glial tau filaments. 910 14
Both the early and late-onset Alzheimer's disease affect millions of people throughout the world. A number of molecules have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. These include presenilin 1 and 2 (PS1 and PS2), a
beta-amyloid peptide
, and
tau protein
. Presenilin 1 and 2 genes implicated in the early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease have been cloned. Both PS1 and PS2 are integral membrane proteins and may function as receptors or channel proteins. Missense mutations in PS1 and PS2 genes have been found in families that cosegregate with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Overexpression of the mutated PS1 gene produced amyloid plaques in the brain of transgenic mice. Secreted
beta-amyloid protein
similar to that in the senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease was found to be elevated in fibroblast media from subjects with PS1 or PS2 mutations. Transgenic mice which carried the mutant form of the beta-
amyloid precursor protein
gene expressed high concentrations of mutant copy of the gene and exhibited abundant amyloid plaques in the brain and memory loss. The mutated PS2 gene enhanced apoptotic activity. This enhanced apoptotic activity may accelerate the process of neurodegeneration leading to an earlier age in the onset of the disease. Identification of lesions in the molecules that are important in the Alzheimer's disease should allow developing therapeutic approaches for its treatment.
...
PMID:Genes implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. 920 74
Recent evidence suggests that
beta-amyloid peptide
(beta-AP) may induce
tau protein
phosphorylation, resulting in loss of microtubule binding capacity and formation of paired helical filaments. The mechanism by which beta-AP increases tau phosphorylation, however, is unclear. Using a hybrid septal cell line, SN56, we demonstrate that aggregated beta-AP(1-40) treatment caused cell injury. Accompanying the cell injury, the levels of phosphorylated tau as well as total tau were enhanced as detected immunochemically by AT8, PHF-1, Tau-1, and Tau-5 antibodies. Alkaline phosphatase treatment abolished AT8 and PHF-1 immunoreactivity, confirming that the tau phosphorylation sites were at least at Ser(199/202) and Ser396. In association with the increase in tau phosphorylation, the immunoreactivity of cell-associated and secreted beta-
amyloid precursor protein
(beta-APP) was markedly elevated. Application of antisense oligonucleotide to beta-APP reduced expression of beta-APP and immunoreactivity of phosphorylated tau. Control peptide beta-AP(1-28) did not produce significant effects on tau phosphorylation, although it slightly increased cell-associated beta-APP. These results suggest that betaAP(1-40)-induced tau phosphorylation may be associated with increased beta-APP expression in degenerated neurons.
...
PMID:Beta-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity of a hybrid septal cell line associated with increased tau phosphorylation and expression of beta-amyloid precursor protein. 928 19
We have previously reported that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) exhibits antineuritogenic effects on chicken cerebral cells in culture. In the present study, we show the effects of HDLs, oxidized by UV irradiation or heating, on chicken cerebral neurons in culture. Both treatments produced several physical and chemical changes in the HDLs, i.e., formation of lipid peroxides, enlargement of HDL diameters, an increased exposure of the tryptophan groups of the apolipoprotein A-I to a more hydrophilic environment, formation of bityrosines, and cross-linking of apolipoprotein A-I. When these treatments were performed in the absence of EDTA, most of the modifications described above were more intense and HDLs formed a macroaggregate that displays a rosette-like structure. The aggregated HDLs produced neurodegeneration and death when added to both undifferentiated and differentiated cerebral neurons in culture. This process was accompanied by the disorganization of the cellular microtubular cytoskeleton and hyperphosphorylation of the
microtubule-associated protein tau
. Native HDL or HDLs treated in the presence of EDTA inhibited the neuritogenesis of undifferentiated neurons but did not show any significant effect on the differentiated neurons in culture. The effects on the cellular cytoskeleton and morphology of aggregated HDLs recall those of the fibrillar
beta-amyloid peptide
. The present results suggest that aggregated HDLs could participate in neurodegeneration associated with oxidative stress in the CNS.
...
PMID:High-density lipoprotein aggregated by oxidation induces degeneration of neuronal cells. 934 56
Neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease contain predominantly
tau protein
and to a lesser degree
amyloid precursor protein
(
APP
), A beta protein, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) and ubiquitin. Previously we have demonstrated the presence of phosphorylated tau and neurofilament proteins in neurofibrillary degeneration (NFD) induced by aluminum (Al) maltolate in rabbits [Savory et al., Brain Res. 669 (1995) 325-329; Savory et al., Brain Res. 707 (1996) 272-281]. Using the same animal system we have now detected
APP
, A beta, ACT and ubiquitin-like immunoreactivities in NFD-bearing neurons, often colocalizing in the NFD. Diffuse cytoplasmic staining for
APP
, A beta and ubiquitin was also present in neurons without NFD from Al maltolate-treated rabbits. This study provides additional support for immunochemical similarities between Al-induced NFD in rabbits and the neurofibrillary tangles in human subjects with Alzheimer's disease.
...
PMID:Neurofibrillary lesions in experimental aluminum-induced encephalopathy and Alzheimer's disease share immunoreactivity for amyloid precursor protein, A beta, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin and ubiquitin-protein conjugates. 940 41
Neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease contain aggregates of abnormally phosphorylated
microtubule-associated protein tau
, indicating that microtubule breakdown is a primary event in the neurodegenerative cascade. Recent studies have shown that addition to neuronal cultures of amyloid peptides found in Alzheimer's leads to abnormal phosphorylation of tau and neurofibrillary pathology. We tested the possibility that the microtubule-stabilizing drug paclitaxel (Taxol) might protect primary neurons against amyloid-induced toxicity. Neurons exposed to aggregated amyloid peptides 25-35 and 1-42 became pyknotic with degenerating neurites within 24 h. Treatment of cultures with paclitaxel either 2 h before or 2 h after addition of the peptide prevented these morphological alterations. When numbers of viable cells were determined in cultures exposed to
amyloid peptide
with or without paclitaxel for 24 or 96 h, the percentage of surviving cells was significantly higher in paclitaxel-treated cultures, and activation of the apoptosis-associated protease CPP32 was significantly reduced. These observations indicate that microtubule-stabilizing drugs may help slow development of the neurofibrillary pathology that leads to the loss of neuronal integrity in Alzheimer's disease.
...
PMID:Protection against beta-amyloid toxicity in primary neurons by paclitaxel (Taxol). 952 79
The neuropathological diagnosis of
Alzheimer disease
relies on the presence of both neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. The number of neurofibrillary tangles is tightly linked to the degree of dementia, suggesting that the formation of neurofibrillary tangles more directly correlates with neuronal dysfunction. The regional pattern of areas affected by neurofibrillary tangle formation during the course of the disease is relatively stereotyped. Neurofibrillary tangles are composed of highly phosphorylated forms of the
microtubule-associated protein tau
. Phosphorylated tau proteins accumulate early in neurones, even before formation of neurofibrillary tangles, suggesting that an imbalance between the activities of protein kinases and phosphatases acting on tau is an early phenomenom. The latter might be related to changes in signalling through transduction cascades, since many of the protein kinases generating phosphorylated tau species participate in signalling pathways. The accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and phosphorylated tau species is associated with disturbances of the microtubule network, and, as a consequence of the latter, of axoplasmic flows. The mechanistic relationship between the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques is still poorly understood and in vivo formation of neurofibrillary tangles in experimental models has not yet been achieved. Future animal models, e.g. transgenic animals expressing combined key human proteins, will hopefully faithfully reproduce all the major cellular lesions of the disease.
...
PMID:The role of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer disease. 968 75
Senile dementia is one of the most important health problems in developed countries. The main disease causing dementia is Alzheimer's disease that is characterized by the progressive deterioration of the cholinergic system, beta-amyloid production and deposition, and neurofibrillary tangle formation. Most of the reviewed data, along with data from experiments performed in our laboratory, suggest that there are no changes in the number of muscarinic receptors between Alzheimer and control brains, although the receptors expressed in Alzheimer's disease brains can be anomalous in their function. The muscarinic receptor-G-protein interaction also seems to be impaired in Alzheimer's disease compared with control brains, as well as the G-protein system, with an important decrease in the function of the Gq/11, the most important G-protein stimulating phosphoinositide hydrolysis in human brain; in addition, the second messenger system is also impaired, with a decrease in the synthesis of phosphoinositides and in the number of IP3 receptors. Muscarinic cholinergic receptors are also linked to beta-amyloid production, stimulation of the M1 subtype with agonists results in the processing of the beta-
amyloid precursor protein
to non-amyloidogenic products and administration of a fraction of the beta-amyloid (beta-amyloid 25-35) to rats, results in a decrease in the number of muscarinic receptors in brain. M1 agonists also decrease the phosphorylation of tau proteins, playing again a modulatory role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The existence of a link between beta-amyloid and tau proteins also has been reported; treatment of hippocampal neurones with beta-amyloid, or the 25-35 residue fragment, resulted in an increase in
tau protein
phosphorylation. The particular contribution of muscarinic receptors, beta-amyloid and tau proteins in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease remains still unclear. Probably Alzheimer's disease could be due to a progressive degeneration in the relationship between the three components covered in this review.
...
PMID:Alzheimer's disease: relationship between muscarinic cholinergic receptors, beta-amyloid and tau proteins. 979 44
The diagnosis, genetics, risk factors, neuropathology, and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are discussed. AD is a degenerative brain disorder and is the leading cause of dementia. Clinical manifestations of AD are primarily the progressive loss of memory and language. Other signs and symptoms of the disease include psychiatric and behavioral disturbances and impairments in the performance of activities of daily living (ADL). To diagnose AD, other causes of dementia-- some of which may be reversible--must be ruled out by laboratory testing and neuroimaging. The pathogenic process that causes AD has not been fully delineated; however, it clearly leads to neuropathology characterized by neuritic plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and loss of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis of Meynert. Genetic factors, including mutations in the
amyloid precursor protein
and the two presenilin genes, appear important in the development of early-onset familial AD, whereas the apolipoprotein E genotype influences the timing of disease onset after age 65. Genetic factors may promote or accelerate deposition of
beta-amyloid protein
to form plaques, as well as abnormal phosphorylation of
tau protein
to form neurofibrillary tangles. Several biochemical factors, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormonal deficiency (estrogen), and other unmodifiable risk factors, notably aging, also play a role in the pathogenic process. The loss of neurons and synaptic connections is selective and causes deficiencies in cholinergic and other neurotransmitter systems, leading to cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric and behavioral disturbances, and eventual loss of ability to perform ADL. The etiology and pathogenesis of AD are highly complex; more effective therapeutic approaches than those currently available will be needed to address these underlying factors more specifically.
...
PMID:Etiology and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. 980 5
<< Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next >>