Alzheimer’s tau structure revealed in first-of-its-kind study

Written by Lauren Pulling, Editor

Researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB; Cambridge, UK), have presented the atomic structures of the abnormal tau filaments that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the first study of its kind, findings show cryo-electron microscopy maps and associated atomic models of paired helical and straight filaments taken from the brain of a patient with AD. The authors of the study – published this week in Nature – suggest that these findings could also demonstrate how tau protein may form different filaments in other neurodegenerative diseases. Tau was first identified as an integral component...

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