Publication
Title
Local structural preferences in shaping tau amyloid polymorphism
Author
Abstract
Tauopathies encompass a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterised by diverse tau amyloid fibril structures. The persistence of polymorphism across tauopathies suggests that distinct pathological conditions dictate the adopted polymorph for each disease. However, the extent to which intrinsic structural tendencies of tau amyloid cores contribute to fibril polymorphism remains uncertain. Using a combination of experimental approaches, we here identify a new amyloidogenic motif, PAM4 (Polymorphic Amyloid Motif of Repeat 4), as a significant contributor to tau polymorphism. Calculation of per-residue contributions to the stability of the fibril cores of different pathologic tau structures suggests that PAM4 plays a central role in preserving structural integrity across amyloid polymorphs. Consistent with this, cryo-EM structural analysis of fibrils formed from a synthetic PAM4 peptide shows that the sequence adopts alternative structures that closely correspond to distinct disease-associated tau strains. Furthermore, in-cell experiments revealed that PAM4 deletion hampers the cellular seeding efficiency of tau aggregates extracted from Alzheimer's disease, corticobasal degeneration, and progressive supranuclear palsy patients, underscoring PAM4's pivotal role in these tauopathies. Together, our results highlight the importance of the intrinsic structural propensity of amyloid core segments to determine the structure of tau in cells, and in propagating amyloid structures in disease. In this work, using a combination of Cryo-EM, in-cell experiments and biophysical analysis, the authors decoded the aggregation propensity of tau, revealing 5 central hot spots in its primary sequence and identify PAM4 as short segment that determines both the structure, as well as the cellular propagation of tau aggregates extracted from Alzheimer's disease, corticobasal degeneration, and progressive supranuclear palsy patients.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Nature communications
Publication
2024
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/S41467-024-45429-2
Volume/pages
15 :1 (2024) , p. 1-16
Article Reference
1028
ISI
001156769400004
Pubmed ID
38310108
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 04.03.2024
Last edited 25.05.2024
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