Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. While the accumulation of Aβ is pivotal to the etiology of AD, both the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and the F-actin severing protein cofilin are necessary for the deleterious effects of Aβ. However, the molecular link between tau and cofilin remains unclear. In this study, we found that cofilin competes with tau for direct microtubule binding in vitro, in cells, and in vivo, which inhibits tau-induced microtubule assembly. Genetic reduction of cofilin mitigates tauopathy and synaptic defects in Tau-P301S mice and movement deficits in tau transgenic C. elegans. The pathogenic effects of cofilin are selectively mediated by activated cofilin, as active but not inactive cofilin selectively interacts with tubulin, destabilizes microtubules, and promotes tauopathy. These results therefore indicate that activated cofilin plays an essential intermediary role in neurotoxic signaling that promotes tauopathy.

Jung-A A. Woo et al. show that activated cofilin competes with Tau for microtubule biding in primary neuronal cultures and a C.elegans model. This direct binding decreases microtubule stability and promotes tauopathy, suggesting an important role for cofilin in neurotoxic signaling.

Details

Title
Activated cofilin exacerbates tau pathology by impairing tau-mediated microtubule dynamics
Author
Woo, Jung-A. A. 1 ; Liu, Tian 2 ; Fang, Cenxiao C. 2 ; Cazzaro, Sara 2 ; Kee, Teresa 3 ; LePochat, Patrick 2 ; Yrigoin, Ksenia 3 ; Penn, Courtney 2 ; Zhao, Xingyu 2 ; Wang, Xinming 3 ; Liggett, Stephen B. 1 ; Kang, David E. 4 

 Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X); Morsani College of Medicine, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X) 
 Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X); Morsani College of Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X) 
 Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X) 
 Morsani College of Medicine, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X); Morsani College of Medicine, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.170693.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2353 285X); James A. Haley Veteran’s Administration Hospital, Tampa, USA (GRID:grid.281075.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 0624 9286) 
Pages
112
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
23993642
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2903739645
Copyright
© This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply 2019. corrected publication 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.