Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026

In Vitro Aggregation Assays Using Hyperphosphorylated Tau Protein
Published on: January 2, 2015
Complement C3a receptor antagonist attenuates tau hyperphosphorylation via glycogen synthase kinase 3β signaling
Junjie Hu1, Yang Yang2, Minli Wang3
1Department of Neurology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
Abstract:
Neurofibrillary tangles aggregated from hyperphosphorylated tau protein are the main pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Complement C3 (or C3a) is the core component of the complement system and is associated with AD pathological processes. However, it remains unclear whether C3a or the C3a receptor has any effect on tau phosphorylation. In this study, we found that exposure of SH-SY5Y cells to okadaic acid (OA) decreased cell viabilities and induced tau hyperphosphorylation. These effects were alleviated by C3a receptor antagonist SB290157 and were further validated by C3a receptor siRNA in OA-treated SH-SY5Y cells. In addition, our results demonstrated that SB290157 markedly inhibited the activities of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), but had no effect on protein phosphatase 2A C subunit (PP2Ac) and cyclin-dependent kinases 5 (CDK5). Our findings here indicate the unique role of the C3a receptor in regulating tau phosphorylation via GSK3β signaling pathways and suggest that the C3a receptor may be a viable target for treating AD.
More Related Videos
07:42Assessment of Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors by an Interrogation of Signal Transduction Pathways by Antibody Arrays
Published on: September 19, 2018
06:45Dissecting Multi-protein Signaling Complexes by Bimolecular Complementation Affinity Purification BiCAP
Published on: June 15, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Insulin: The Receptor and Signaling Pathways
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
Drug-Receptor Interaction: Antagonist
Antagonists can be classified as competitive or noncompetitive based on their...
cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...