Disease-specific tau filaments assemble via polymorphic intermediates. (10.1038/s41586-023-06788-w [doi])

These scientists wanted to understand how certain proteins in our brains can form clumps, which are linked to diseases like Alzheimer's and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. They used a special microscope to freeze the proteins and take pictures of them as they assembled into these clumps.

They found that the proteins first formed a shared clump, with a specific part in the middle. This middle part of the protein became very stiff and had a specific shape. Later on, they saw many different clumps forming, depending on the conditions of the experiment.

Eventually, most of these clumps disappeared and only the ones with the same middle part as those found in human brains remained.

These findings help us understand how these clumps form in our brains and may help scientists develop new treatments for these diseases.

Lovestam S., Li D., Wagstaff JL., Kotecha A., Kimanius D., McLaughlin SH., Murzin AG., Freund SMV., Goedert M., Scheres SHW. Disease-specific tau filaments assemble via polymorphic intermediates. Nature. 2024 Jan;625(7993):119-125. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06788-w. Epub 2023 Nov 29.