The molecular pathology of tau strain and anti-aggregation strategy

Shotaro Shimonaka^1）2）, Ahmed Imtiaz^2）, Mohammad Nasir Uddin^2）, Manami Shiba^2）, Koichi Ishiguro^3）,
Yumiko Motoi^2）3）, Nobutaka Hattori^3）

^1）Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University
^2）Department of Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment of Dementia, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University
^3）Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University

Recent Cryo-EM study clearly revealed that different tauopathies （ex. AD, CBD and PSP） show distinct structural difference of tau fibrils, termed as “tau strain”.　The molecular pathology of aggregated tau is important to 1） elucidate the molecular mechanism of tau aggregation and 2） devise the strategy for the prevention of tau aggregation.　This article reviews the recent findings in this field and our studies on the mechanism of tau strain formation and the effect of structural polymorphism of aggregated tau on the drug treatment.

Address correspondence to Dr. Shotaro Shimonaka, Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University （2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan）