Merck, ABN454, Anti-Tau (T22), oligomeric Antibody

Microtubule-associated protein tau (UniProt P10636; also known as Neurofibrillary tangle protein, Paired helical filament-tau, PHF-tau) is encoded by the MAPT (also known as TAU, MAPT1, MTBTL) gene (Gene ID 4137) in human. In Alzheimer′s disease (AD) pathology, accumulation of the microtubule-associated protein tau takes place primarily in the neurons. Tau accumulates in both the somatodendritic and axonal domains of neurons. Tau also accumulates in the soma as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Cell death and synaptic lesions occur independently of NFT formation, and research indicates that NFT formation alone is insufficient for neurodegeneration, suggesting that soluble tau aggregates may be the more toxic and pathologically significant tau species. Tau oligomers are neurotoxic when applied extracellularly to cultured neuronal cells, and tau oligomers (but not fibrils) induce neurodegeneration and synaptic and mitochondrial dysfunction in vivo. Moreove, researchers are able to use tau oligomers as a reliable biomarker to differentiate AD brains from age-matched non-AD brains.