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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

In Vitro Aggregation Assays Using Hyperphosphorylated Tau Protein
Published on: January 2, 2015
Ultrastructure of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease
T Miyakawa1, S Katsuragi, K Araki
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kumamoto University Medical School, Japan.
Abstract:
The ultrastructure of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) was examined by electron microscopy. The fibrils of NFT seemed to consists of about eight protofilaments consisting of globular subunits; these protofilaments were helically wound in a longitudinal direction. The fibrils of NFT had hollow structures at their centers surrounded by the eight globular subunits. The subunits were tightly connected in the narrow parts of the fibril, but more loosely connected in the wider parts. From these findings, it seemed that the fibrils of NFT consist of a twisted tubule having periodical constrictions and is made up of eight helically wound protofilaments, forming globular subunits.
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