Pathways linking Aβ and tau pathologies

Abeta (amyloid beta-peptide) and tau are the main proteins that misfold and accumulate in amyloid plaques and NFTs (neurofibrillary tangles) of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. Historically, because plaques and NFTs accumulate in diverse cellular compartments, i.e. mainly extracellularly for plaques and intracellularly for NFTs, it was long presumed that the constituent proteins formed these lesions via unrelated pathways. Animal and cell studies over the last decade, however, have provided convincing evidence to show that Abeta can facilitate the development of tau pathology by altering several cell-dependent and -independent mechanisms. In the present article, results are reviewed from several laboratories that show that modulating Abeta pathology can directly affect the development of tau pathology, which has significant implications for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.