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World J Biol Chem. May 26, 2010; 1(5): 81-84
Published online May 26, 2010. doi: 10.4331/wjbc.v1.i5.81
Is tau a suitable therapeutical target in tauopathies?
Elena Gomez de Barreda, Jesús Avila
Elena Gomez de Barreda, Jesús Avila, Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, Spanish Network of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Author contributions: Both authors wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Jesús Avila, Professor, Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, Spanish Network of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain. javila@cbm.uam.es
Telephone: +34-91-1964564 Fax: +34-91-1964420
Received: May 7, 2010
Revised: May 14, 2010
Accepted: May 21, 2010
Published online: May 26, 2010
Abstract

Tau is an intracellular protein, found mainly in neurons, but it can also be found in the extracellular space in pathological situations. Here we discuss whether intracellular tau, in aggregated form or modified by phosphorylation, could be toxic inside a neuron. On the other hand, it has been proposed that extracellular tau could be toxic. In this review, we address the question if the elimination of tau would be a possible therapeutic method to avoid tauopathy disorder and we suggest ways to eliminate intracellular and extracellular tau as treatment.

Keywords: Tau; Tauopathy; Alzheimer disease; Therapy; Phosphorylation