The role of microglia in the spread of Tau: Relevance for tauopathies

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases which course with the accumulation of Tau, mainly in neurons. In addition, Tau accumulates in a hyperphosphorylated and aggregated form. This protein is released into the extracellular space and spreads following a stereotypical pattern, inducing the develo...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Perea, Juan Ramón, Llorens-Martín, María, Ávila, Jesús, Bolós, Marta
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/182406
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/182406
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Phagocytosis
Tau protein
Alzheimer’s disease
Tauopathies
Microglia
Descripción
Sumario:Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases which course with the accumulation of Tau, mainly in neurons. In addition, Tau accumulates in a hyperphosphorylated and aggregated form. This protein is released into the extracellular space and spreads following a stereotypical pattern, inducing the development of the disease through connected regions of the brain. Microglia—the macrophages of the brain—are involved in maintaining brain homeostasis. They perform a variety of functions related to the surveillance and clearance of pathological proteins, among other dead cells and debris, from the extracellular space that could compromise brain equilibrium. This review focuses on the role played by microglia in tauopathies, specifically in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and how the uncoupling of activation/phagocytosis functions can have fatal consequences leading to the development of the pathology.