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Updated: Aug 27, 2026

Imaging the Intracellular Trafficking of APP with Photoactivatable GFP
Published on: October 17, 2015
Tau protein directly interacts with the amyloid beta-protein precursor: implications for Alzheimer's disease
M A Smith1, S L Siedlak, P L Richey
1Institute of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
Abstract:
The simultaneous presence of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and extracellular senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggests that the two lesions could be synergistically interrelated. However, although the main protein components of NFT and senile plaques, tau (tau) and amyloid beta-protein, respectively, are well characterized, the molecular mechanisms responsible for their deposition in lesions are unknown. We demonstrate, using four independent techniques, that tau directly interacts with a conformation-dependent domain of the amyloid beta-protein precursor (beta PP) encompassing residues beta PP714-723. The putative tau-binding domain includes beta PP717 mutation sites that are associated with familial forms of AD. Our findings strongly suggest that NFT and senile plaques, often thought of as independent structures, may play a role in each other's formation during the pathogenesis of AD.
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