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Immunotherapy for Tauopathies

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Abstract

Pathological tau protein is found in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. The protein is hyperphosphorylated and/or mutated which leads to aggregation and neurotoxicity. Because cognitive functions correlate well with the degree of tau pathology, clearing these aggregates is a promising therapeutic approach. Studies pioneered by our laboratory and confirmed by others have shown that both active and passive immunizations targeting disease-related tau epitopes successfully reduce tau aggregates in vivo and slow or prevent behavioral impairments in mouse models of tauopathy. Here, we summarize recent advances in this new field.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by NIH grants AG032611, AG020197, the Alzheimer's Association, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation/Association for Frontotemporal Dementia, and the Irma T Hirschl/Monique Caulier Trust.

Disclosure

Patent is pending on tau immunotherapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, New York University, School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Jiaping Gu & Einar M. Sigurdsson

  2. Department of Psychiatry, New York University, School of Medicine, Medical Science Building, Room MSB459, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Einar M. Sigurdsson

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  1. Jiaping Gu
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  2. Einar M. Sigurdsson
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Correspondence to Einar M. Sigurdsson.

Additional information

Journal of Molecular Neuroscience - (Special Issue on 7th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias), in press, 2011. Guest Editor: Bernardino Ghetti, Editor-in-Chief: Illana Gozes

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Gu, J., Sigurdsson, E.M. Immunotherapy for Tauopathies. J Mol Neurosci 45, 690–695 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-011-9576-5

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