Alzheimer’s disease: Ablating single master site abolishes tau hyperphosphorylation
dataset
posted on 2022-06-11, 04:27authored byKristie Stefanoska, Arne Ittner, Mehul Gajwani, Amanda RP Tan, Holly Ahel, Prita Asih, Alexander Volkerling, Anne Poljak
Hyper-phosphorylation of the neuronal tau protein is a hallmark of neurodegenerative tauopathies like Alzheimer’s disease. A central unanswered question is why tau becomes progressively hyper-phosphorylated. Here, we show that tau phosphorylation is governed by interdependence - a mechanistic link between initial site-specific and subsequent multi-site phosphorylation. Systematic assessment of site interdependence identified distinct residues (Threonine-50, -69, -181) as master sites that determine propagation of phosphorylation at multiple epitopes. CRISPR point mutation and expression of human tau in Alzheimer’s mice showed that site interdependence governs physiologic and amyloid-associated multi-site phosphorylation and cognitive deficits, respectively. Combined targeting of master sites and p38α, the most central tau kinase linked to interdependence, synergistically ablated hyper-phosphorylation. In summary, our work delineates how complex tau phosphorylation arises to inform therapeutic and biomarker design for tauopathies.
Methods
Raw Immunoblot data for Figure 1. Chemiluninescence signals were imaged on a ChemiDoc MP (Biorad) digital system.
Funding
Australian Research Council : DP200102396
National Health and Medical Research Council : 1143978
Australian Research Council : DP170100843
National Health and Medical Research Council : 1176628