Two days of tau: a meeting focused on its biology and pathology

Tauopathies are a clinically diverse group of neurodegenerative dementias involving perturbations of the level or phosphorylation state of the microtubule-binding axonal protein tau. Despite intense effort in recent years, the precise role of tau in the pathology of the various behaviourally and neuropathologically distinct tauopathies, the mechanisms of tau toxicity and the potential functional interaction of tau and amyloid in Alzheimer's disease remain elusive. Nevertheless, novel observations regarding the various aspects of taumisregulation-dependent pathogenesis are emerging from various cellular, vertebrate and invertebrate animal models and are supported by new clinical data. This Focused Meeting brought together scientists working on tau and tauopathies from different disciplines and various experimental models. The aim was to enhance our understanding of the protein itself and disorders associated with its misregulation through synergy.