 | THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF DEMENTIA
Copyright © 2000 by the New York Academy of Sciences
description
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 920:74-83 (2000)
© 2000 New York Academy of Sciences
Tau Gene Mutations in Frontotemporal Dementia and Parkinsonism Linked to Chromosome 17 (FTDP-17): Their Relevance for Understanding the Neurogenerative Process
MICHEL GOEDERTa,d,
BERNARDINO GHETTIb AND
MARIA GRAZIA SPILLANTINIc
aMedical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
bDepartment of Neuropathology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
cDepartment of Neurology and Brain Repair Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
dAddress for correspondence: M. Goedert, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK. Tel.: 44-1-223-402036; fax: 44-1-223-402197.
e-mail: mg{at}mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that binds to microtubules and promotes microtubule assembly. Six tau isoforms are produced in adult human brain by alternative mRNA splicing from a single gene. Inclusion of a 31 amino acid repeat encoded by exon 10 of the tau gene gives rise to the three isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats each. The other three tau isoforms have three repeats each. Abundant neurofibrillary lesions made of tau protein constitute a defining neuropathological characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. Filamentous tau protein deposits are also the defining characteristic of other neurodegenerative diseases, many of which are frontotemporal dementias or movement disorders, such as Pick's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and corticobasal degeneration. It is well established that the distribution of tau pathology correlates with the presence of symptoms of disease. However, until recently, there was no genetic evidence linking tau to neurodegeneration. This has now changed with the discovery of more than 15 mutations in the tau gene in frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). The new work has shown that dysfunction of tau protein causes neurodegeneration.
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