Novel monoclonal antibodies targeting the microtubule-binding domain of human tau.

Tauopathies including Alzheimer's disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy are a diverse group of progressive neurodegenerative disorders pathologically defined by inclusions containing aberrantly aggregated, post-translationally modified tau. The tau pathology burden correlates with neurodegeneration and dementia observed in these diseases. The microtubule binding domain of tau is essential for its physiological functions in promoting neuronal cytoskeletal stability, however it is also required for tau to assemble into an amyloid structure that comprises pathological inclusions. A series of novel monoclonal antibodies were generated which recognize the second and fourth microtubule-binding repeat domain of tau, thus enabling the identification specifically of 4-repeat tau versus 3-/4-repeat tau, respectively. These antibodies are highly specific for tau and recognize pathological tau inclusions in human tauopathies including Alzheimer's disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and in transgenic mouse models of tauopathies. These new antibodies will be useful for identifying and characterizing different tauopathies and as tools to target tau pathology in these diseases.