Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

In Vitro Aggregation Assays Using Hyperphosphorylated Tau Protein
Published on: January 2, 2015
beta-amyloid fibrils induce tau phosphorylation and loss of microtubule binding
J Busciglio1, A Lorenzo, J Yeh
1Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Abstract:
A central issue in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the relationship between amyloid deposition and neurofibrillary tangle formation. To determine whether amyloid fibril formation affects the phosphorylation state of tau, primary cultures of fetal rat hippocampal and human cortical neurons were treated with beta-amyloid (beta A) in a soluble, amorphous-aggregated, or fibrillar form. Fibrillar beta A, but not soluble or amorphous-aggregated beta A, markedly induces the phosphorylation of tau at Ser-202 and Ser-396/Ser-404, resulting in a shift in the tau M(r) in human cortical neurons. Hyperphosphorylated tau accumulates in the somatodendritic compartment of fibrillar beta A-treated neurons in a soluble form that is not associated with microtubules and is incapable of binding to microtubules in vitro. Dephosphorylation of beta A-induced tau restores its capacity to bind to microtubules. Thus, amyloid fibril formation alters the phosphorylation state of tau, resulting in the loss of microtubule binding capacity and somatodendritic accumulation, properties also exhibited by tau in the AD brain. Amyloid fibril formation may therefore be a cause of abnormal tau phosphorylation in AD.
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
09:52Modified Roller Tube Method for Precisely Localized and Repetitive Intermittent Imaging During Long-term Culture of Brain Slices in an Enclosed System
Published on: December 28, 2017
Related Concept Videos
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...
Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)
Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules
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...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology