Molecular Genetics of Tau-Associated Neurodegeneration

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau occur in some cases of inherited frontotemporal dementia (FTD), demonstrating that tau abnormalities can cause neurodegeneration. Many FTD mutations occur in regulatory elements that alter splicing and thereby expression of tau isoforms, rather than tau coding sequence. One of the hallmark neuropathologic features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the neurofibrillary tangle (NFT), which contains hyperphosphorylated tau. Characterization of the events that modify tau-associated neurodegenerative processes is critical for understanding the pathophysiology of AD, as well as FTD and related diseases, such as progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration, and for the development of therapeutics. In order to test the hypothesis that neurodegeneration can be caused by aberrant expression of wild-type tau, the longest isoform of human tau was overexpressed in the fruit fly, producing degeneration of the eye and underlying brain, but failing to produce neurofibrillary tangles. However, tau phosphorylation by co-expression of shaggy, the Drosophila homologue of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3beta, an important tau kinase in vitro, produced a more severely degenerated eye, as well as lesions resembling NFT (Jackson, G.R., et al. (2002): Human wild-type tau interacts with wingless pathway components and produces neurofibrillary pathology in Drosophila. Neuron 34: 509-519). Here, we will examine whether Shaggy is incorporated into NFT-like lesions in double tau + Shaggy transgenics. We will examine the role of puromycin-sensitive aminopeptidase, which was identified in a pilot screen, as a tau modifier. Finally, we will perform loss of function and gain of function genetic screens in order to identify novel modifiers of the abnormal Drosophila phenotype associated with expression of hyperphosphorylated tau. Modifier genes will be characterized and evaluated as targets for the development of new therapies aimed at alleviating neurofibrillary pathology and neuronal cell death in AD and other neurodegenerative disorders.