Core Causal Mechanism of Tau-Induced Neurodegeneration Discovered!

Novel pathological mechanism of tau protein has been unraveled by a study at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Tau protein pathology includes the accumulation of abnormal tau proteins that results in gradual neuronal death. Disorders include Alzheimer’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and more than 20 similar disorders.

The new mechanism may be explored pharmacologically to formulate a novel target for drug development against tau pathology.

“The fact it is a druggable target is really exciting, and it is a new mechanism that wasn’t previously established,” says Gabrielle Zuniga, first author and an MD/PhD student in the South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program.

Novel Tau Mechanism

It was found that deficits in an RNA quality-control pathway — nonsense-mediated mRNA decay was described as an early event, that occurred long before neuronal cell death in tau-mediated cell damage.

“Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay is a key step in the process by which genetic information is translated into proteins.” Impairment of this quality-control mechanism results in buildups of RNA and production of abnormal, dysfunctional proteins. “It has an absolutely detrimental effect,” says Zuniga.

The study thereby suggests that targeting a much earlier mechanism — mRNA decay pathways rather than targeting a later disease process — tau deposition may seem as a promising yet brilliant discovery against various tau pathologies that may aid in formulating novel therapies.

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Source-Medindia