Researchers Discover Brain Molecule, VPS35, Can Clear Alzheimer’s Tau Tangles. For the first time, researchers have determined that a molecule called VPS35 can clear tau proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, in the brain. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Tau research It appears that abnormal tau accumulates in specific brain regions involved in memory. As the amount of beta-amyloid in the brain increases, a tipping point is reached that causes abnormal tau to spread throughout the brain.

Tau, a microtubule-associated protein, is the main component of the intracellular filamentous inclusions that are involved in neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies, including Alzheimer disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17 (FTDP-17), Pick disease (PiD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP …

The abnormal tau proteins found in these neurodegenerative diseases are not identical, although they are related. A genetically mutant form of tau can wreak havoc and does so in FTDP-17.

Manipulations of kinases by drugs have been shown to be an effective way to reduce tau levels; for example, a small-molecule inhibitor of GSK-3β kinase was effective in reducing phosphorylated tau [41,42].

Emerging evidence suggests that Alzheimer’s-related brain changes may result from a complex interplay among abnormal tau and beta-amyloid proteins and several other factors. It appears that abnormal tau accumulates in specific brain regions involved in memory.

Tau and other biomarkers can be detected with PET scans of the brain and lab tests of spinal fluid. However, PET imaging is expensive and involves radioactive agents, and spinal fluid tests require spinal taps, which are invasive, complex and time-consuming. Simpler biomarker tests are still needed.

Tau buildup is caused by increased activity of enzymes that act on tau called tau kinases, which causes the tau protein to misfold and clump, forming neurofibrillary tangles.

tau protein. n. Any of several proteins that act to stabilize neuronal microtubules in the axons of brain neurons and that form abnormal tangles in the brains of people with certain neurodegenerative disorders.

Tau is a structural protein in the brain. Tau protein containing many phosphorus groups (P-tau) can produce neurofibrillary tangles, which are twisted protein fragments that develop in nerve cells and disrupt the cells’ ability to transport signals.

Tau therapy is thought to be a cutting-edge treatment for AD. The research study will not be complete until February of 2019. This is a phase 2 clinical trial with 185 participants. In a phase 2 clinical trials, the study participants must be afflicted with the condition which the drugs are intended to treat.