Total Tau and Phospho Tau (181P) in Alzheimer's Disease Research
Sep 8th 2021
Tau in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) research
Tau protein is a 45-50 kDa microtubule-associated protein consisting of 352-441 amino acids. It has a role of stabilizing microtubules that transport intracellular substances in nerve cells. It has been observed that tauopathy such as Alzheimer's type dementia (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is developed due to abnormal accumulation of Tau. Three key features of AD, senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal cell death have been observed in the brain of AD subjects. It is considered that neurofibrillary tangles are triggered by abnormal accumulation of Tau. The main element of neurofibrillary tangles is called PHF (paired helical filament) and it is accumulated in nerve cells.
Phospho Tau in AD research
Overexpressed phosphorylated tau is aggregated and it becomes a main cause of PHF. It has been thought that GSK-3β is involved in the process of the phosphorylation of tau and that amyloid beta promotes this activity. It has been observed that the concentration of Tau is very high in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of subjects with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Tau is released into CSF due to neurons being destroyed and is rarely detected in CSF of healthy subjects.
We offer both Total Tau and Phospho Tau (181P) ELISA kits for research use only.