Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

In Vitro Aggregation Assays Using Hyperphosphorylated Tau Protein
Published on: January 2, 2015
Granulovacuolar degenerations appear in relation to hippocampal phosphorylated tau accumulation in various
Yuu Yamazaki1, Tomoyasu Matsubara, Tetsuya Takahashi
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Therapeutics, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan. yyamazak@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Background:
Granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) is one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and it is defined as electron-dense granules within double membrane-bound cytoplasmic vacuoles. Several lines of evidence have suggested that GVDs appear within hippocampal pyramidal neurons in AD when phosphorylated tau begins to aggregate into early-stage neurofibrillary tangles. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of GVDs with phosphorylated tau pathology to determine whether GVDs and phosphorylated tau coexist among different non-AD neurodegenerative disorders.
Methods:
An autopsied series of 28 patients with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders and 9 control patients were evaluated. Standard histological stains along with immunohistochemistry using protein markers for GVD and confocal microscopy were utilized.
Results:
The number of neurons with GVDs significantly increased with the level of phosphorylated tau accumulation in the hippocampal regions in non-AD neurodegenerative disorders. At the cellular level, diffuse staining for phosphorylated tau was detected in neurons with GVDs.
Conclusions:
Our data suggest that GVDs appear in relation to hippocampal phosphorylated tau accumulation in various neurodegenerative disorders, while the presence of phosphorylated tau in GVD-harbouring neurons in non-AD neurodegenerative disorders was indistinguishable from age-related accumulation of phosphorylated tau. Although GVDs in non-AD neurodegenerative disorders have not been studied thoroughly, our results suggest that they are not incidental findings, but rather they appear in relation to phosphorylated tau accumulation, further highlighting the role of GVD in the process of phosphorylated tau accumulation.
More Related Videos
12:55Assay for Phosphorylation and Microtubule Binding Along with Localization of Tau Protein in Colorectal Cancer Cells
Published on: October 10, 2017
12:47Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for the Identification of Multiple Phosphorylations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins
Published on: December 27, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Lysosomal Hydrolases
Dementia l: Introduction
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...