Abstract
Tau protein is a brain microtubule–associated protein having 79 putative phosphorylatable sites that could be modified by serine/threonine protein kinases. This phosphorylation can be divided in two types, depending whether the modified residue is phosphorylated by proline-directed or by non-proline-directed protein kinases. In neurodegenerative processes (tauopathies), tau is mainly (but not only) modified by a proline-directed protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). In this chapter, we will review that phosphorylation at serine and threonine residues, the modification that can take place at tyrosine residues, and the dephosphorylation of the modified residues by tau phosphatases. In addition, we will comment on the toxicity of phosphotau in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and the development of possible therapies to prevent tau phosphorylation.
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Avila, J., Hernández, F. (2011). Tau Phosphorylation. In: Nixon, R., Yuan, A. (eds) Cytoskeleton of the Nervous System. Advances in Neurobiology, vol 3. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6787-9_3
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