DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTION OF PHOSPHORYLATED TAU-PROTEIN ISOFORMS IN ALZHEIMERS AND PICKS DISEASES

Tau proteins aggregate into different neuronal inclusions in several n eurodegenerative disorders, In Alzheimer's disease (AD), hyperphosphor ylated Tau from paired helical filaments (PHF) of neurofibrillary tang les, named PHF-Tau, hale an electrophoretic profile with four main ban ds (Tau 55, 64, 69, 74 kDa), In Pick's disease, phosphorylated Tau fro m Pick bodies are made of two major components (Tan 55, 64 kDa) and a minor 69 kDa, Here we show, using specific antibodies against translat ed exon 2, 3 or 10 of Tau isoforms, that the set of Tau isoforms engag ed in the most insoluble part of PHF in AD is made of Tau isoforms wit h exon 10 while they are lacking in phosphorylated Tau from Pick's dis ease, Our results suggest that specific sets of Tau isoforms distingui sh between typical neuronal inclusions. (C) 1997 Federation of Europea n Biochemical Societies.