Surprising Discovery: Tau Protein Can Reduce Neuronal Damage and Protect the Brain

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Reddit
• Tumblr
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• RSS Feed
• Link

Surprising Discovery: Tau Protein Can Reduce Neuronal Damage and Protect the Brain

• Shocking! All existing AIDS vaccine developments have failed 
• Sanofi Japan Data Breach: 730000 Healthcare Professionals’ Information Exposed
• CT Radiation Exposure Linked to Blood Cancer in Children and Adolescents
• FDA has mandated a top-level black box warning for all marketed CAR-T therapies
• Can people with high blood pressure eat peanuts?
• What is the difference between dopamine and dobutamine?
• How long can the patient live after heart stent surgery?

Surprising Discovery: Tau Protein Can Reduce Neuronal Damage and Protect the Brain

Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the abnormal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins, including Alzheimer’s disease. In these conditions, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels also rise abnormally, leading to the oxidation of molecules like lipids, making them harmful. Since neurons are particularly vulnerable to high ROS levels, the brain has evolved several mechanisms to counteract ROS.

Traditionally, tau protein has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. However, new research shows that tau protein may also play a protective role in the brain.

Recently, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine published a paper in Nature Neuroscience titled “Tau is required for glial lipid droplet formation and resistance to neuronal oxidative stress.”

The study reveals that tau protein has neuroprotective properties and is essential for the formation of glial lipid droplets, which protect neurons from ROS damage. This helps reduce neuronal damage caused by excessive ROS, thereby protecting the brain.

ROS are natural byproducts of various cellular functions in the body. While low levels of ROS are beneficial, excessive ROS can harm cells by oxidizing molecules like lipids, leading to the production of lipid peroxides (LPOs) and inducing oxidative stress. Neurons are particularly susceptible to oxidative stress, and if LPO levels are not strictly controlled, neurons can be damaged.

Back in 2015, the research team discovered that neurons transfer these toxic LPOs to glial cells, where they are sequestered into lipid droplets (LD) for storage and metabolic breakdown. This process effectively removes and neutralizes these toxic LPOs. However, the role of tau protein in lipid droplet formation remained unclear.

In this study, the researchers found that when tau accumulates in the glial cells of fruit flies, it disrupts ROS-induced lipid droplet formation, making the glial cells more sensitive to ROS.

Furthermore, endogenous tau is required for lipid droplet formation in glial cells and for protecting neurons from lipid peroxide damage in fruit flies. Similarly, endogenous tau is also necessary for lipid droplet formation and lipid peroxide breakdown in glial cells of rats and humans.

Further analysis revealed that tau is essential for maintaining health and longevity. When tau is deficient or defective in fruit flies, ROS-induced lipid droplet formation decreases, leading to the accumulation of toxic lipid peroxides, reduced motor function, and shortened lifespan. However, these effects can be mitigated by supplementing with the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine amide.

These findings indicate that tau is a dose-dependent regulator of glial lipid droplets, and both excessive and insufficient tau are harmful.

Mechanistically, tau interacts with microtubules, promoting the budding of lipid droplets from the endoplasmic reticulum as part of its function as a microtubule-associated protein. Tau deficiency prevents proper lipid droplet budding in a dose-dependent manner, making tau essential for lipid droplet maturation.

The researchers suggest that mutated tau, in addition to leading to protein aggregation typical of diseases, may also impair neurons’ ability to resist oxidative stress, indicating a new neuroprotective role for tau in combating ROS-related toxicity.

Contrary to previous beliefs, this study shows that tau also plays a “positive” role in glial cells by aiding lipid droplet formation and reducing oxidative stress, thereby protecting the brain.

In conclusion, the results demonstrate that tau is essential for lipid droplet formation and preventing neuronal ROS damage, as well as for healthy aging. The absence or defect of tau impairs health, revealing a surprising new neuroprotective function of tau, potentially opening new avenues for slowing, reversing, and treating neurodegenerative diseases.

Surprising Discovery: Tau Protein Can Reduce Neuronal Damage and Protect the Brain

______________________________

(source:internet, reference only)

Disclaimer of medicaltrend.org

Important Note: The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice.