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Tau Gene Mutations in Frontotemporal Dementia and Parkinsonism Linked to Chromosome 17 (FTDP‐17): Their Relevance for Understanding the Neurogenerative Process
Author(s) -
GOEDERT MICHEL,
GHETTI BERNARDINO,
SPILLANTINI MARIA GRAZIA
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06907.x
Subject(s) - frontotemporal dementia , corticobasal degeneration , progressive supranuclear palsy , neurodegeneration , tau protein , gene isoform , parkinsonism , exon , biology , alternative splicing , genetics , tauopathy , gene , alzheimer's disease , dementia , pathology , disease , medicine , atrophy
A bstract : 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.