Preprint: Seeding patient-derived tau induces tauopathy-specific aggregation and lysosomal disruption in human cells
WHY IT MATTERS
This research provides a more accurate way to test potential treatments for tauopathies by using real patient tau, which could lead to better drugs that target the specific type of tau damage in individual diseases.
Scientists created a new laboratory model using brain cells to study how tau proteins clump together in different brain diseases. They used actual tau from patient brains instead of artificial versions, which helps them understand why different diseases cause different types of tau damage. This model also showed how tau clumping breaks down the cell's recycling system, called lysosomes.
Seeding patient-derived tau induces tauopathy-specific aggregation and lysosomal disruption in human cells Authors: Kavanagh, T. et al. Server: bioRxiv Category: cell biology Abstract: BackgroundTau aggregation is the defining feature of tauopathies, however, the mechanisms by which distinct tau strains drive disease-specific responses remain unclear. Existing models largely rely on recombinant tau seeding or tau overexpression, which fail to capture the biochemical diversity of pathological tau. The aim of this study was to develop a robust and reproducible human cell-based model of disease-specific tau pathology and to use this model to determine how tau from unique diseases impact tau accumulation and lysosomal dysfunction. MethodsPatient-derived tau aggregates were enri