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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

In Vitro Aggregation Assays Using Hyperphosphorylated Tau Protein
Published on: January 2, 2015
The ordered assembly of tau is the gain-of-toxic function that causes human tauopathies
1MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge United Kingdom.
Abstract:
A pathological pathway leading from soluble to insoluble and filamentous tau underlies human tauopathies. This ordered assembly causes disease and is the gain-of-toxic function. It involves the transition from an intrinsically disordered monomer to a highly structured filament. Based on recent findings, one can divide the ordered assembly into propagation of pathology and neurodegeneration. Short tau fibrils constitute the major species of seed-competent tau in the brains of mice transgenic for human P301S tau. The molecular species of aggregated tau that are essential for neurodegeneration remain to be identified.
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