Phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau by mitogen-activated protein kinase in Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. The presence of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which primarily contain self-aggregated hyper phosphorylated tau protein, is one of the major pathological characteristics of AD brains. Tau is a microtubule-associated protein important for regulating microtubule assembly and stability. Abnormal hyper phosphorylation of tau decreases its microtubule-binding capacity and disrupts microtubule stability. A number of protein kinases have been implicated in the abnormal phosphorylation of tau including mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). This article reviews the hyper phosphorylation of tau in the pathogenesis of AD and discusses the role of MAPKs in the phosphorylation of tau.