Toxic tau accumulation in tauopathies (IMAGE)

Tokyo Metropolitan University

Toxic tau accumulation in tauopathies

Caption

Tau proteins with cysteine groups bearing thiol groups (S) undergo chemical changes under oxidative stress to form disulfide bonds, making a toxic mutant of the tau protein that can aggregate. These go on to cause neural degeneration. Antioxidants can help reduce these back to thiols; these normal tau proteins can then be naturally cleared away by the cell.

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Tokyo Metropolitan University

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