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Amyloid Proteins pp 169–183Cite as

Investigating Fibrillar Aggregates of Tau Protein by Atomic Force Microscopy

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 849))

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used in numerous studies to visualize and analyze the structure and conformation of biological samples, from single molecules to biopolymers to cells. The possibility to analyze native samples without fixation, staining and in physiological buffer conditions, combined with the sub-nanometer resolution, makes AFM a versatile tool for the analysis of protein aggregation and amyloid structures. Here, we describe the application of AFM to study fibrillar Tau protein aggregates.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Max-Planck-Society (program on “Toxic Protein Conformation,” to DM and EM), the Volkswagen Foundation (program “Conformation of Biological Molecules,” to EM), the BMBF program on Degenerative Diseases (KNDD, to EM), and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (GK1401 at TU Dresden, to DM and SW). We are grateful to Eva-Maria Mandelkow and Subash Chinnathambi for their advice and contributions to Tau biochemistry and aggregation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland

    Susanne Wegmann

  2. Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland

    Daniel J. Muller

  3. Max-Planck-Unit for Structural Molecular Biology c/o DESY, Hamburg, Germany

    Eckhard Mandelkow

  4. DZNE, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases c/o CAESAR, Hamburg, Germany

    Eckhard Mandelkow

Authors
  1. Susanne Wegmann
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  2. Daniel J. Muller
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  3. Eckhard Mandelkow
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eckhard Mandelkow .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Dept. Psychiatry, New York University, First Ave. 550, New York, 10016, New York, USA

    Einar M. Sigurdsson

  2. Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo Km 2, Madrid, 28220, Spain

    Miguel Calero

  3. Inst. Química Física, Rocasolano, CSIC Madrid, C/ Serrano 119, Madrid, 28006, Spain

    María Gasset

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Wegmann, S., Muller, D.J., Mandelkow, E. (2012). Investigating Fibrillar Aggregates of Tau Protein by Atomic Force Microscopy. In: Sigurdsson, E., Calero, M., Gasset, M. (eds) Amyloid Proteins. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 849. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-551-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-551-0_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-550-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-551-0

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