Tau Antibodies

April 06, 2023

 

Alzheimer's Disease International estimates that dementia affects about 57 million people worldwide as of 2019, which is expected to nearly triple by 2050.1 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of β-amyloid peptide and phosphorylated tau protein (short for tubulin-associated unit2). Under normal conditions, tau is a microtubule-associated protein (MAP) involved in microtubule stabilization. Tau is found primarily in axons, where it regulates microtubule polymerization and stabilization.

Role of Tau Protein in Disease

In disease, tau becomes hyperphosphorylated and can no longer adequately stabilize the microtubules. Kinases such as GSK3β, CDK5, MAPK, CaMKII, and p38 carry out the phosphorylation step. Hyperphosphorylated tau forms insoluble filaments which accumulate as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). The resulting neurodegenerative diseases are called tauopathies and include progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Pick's disease (PiD), Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

Tau Protein Pathology

Figure: Formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Under pathological conditions, tau becomes hyperphosphorylated and destabilizes microtubules. Phosphorylated tau aggregates, builds filaments, and forms NFTs.

Advances in Tau Immunotherapy

Several tau antibodies and tau vaccines are currently in clinical trials or late-stage preclinical development. A large proportion of these are targeted for the treatment of AD, whereas most of these anti-tau antibodies are whole antibodies that work both intracellularly and extracellularly, blocking the spread of tau pathology via different mechanisms (see Sandusky-Beltran & Sigurdsson, 2020 for a review on past and present clinical trials). Recently, the results of another phase 1b study using a tau-targeting antisense oligonucleotide (MAPTRX) to reduce tau in patients with mild AD were published in Nature Medicine.5 While this is good news in itself, what is particularly noteworthy is that this is the first antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) treatment evaluated in a clinical study of patients with Alzheimer's. In this context, Rockland's recently introduced ModDetect™ Antibody Panels that allow for the detection of modified nucleic acids could further advance this innovative technology.

As we continue to identify interaction partners and modulators of tau, new opportunities will emerge to further improve efficacy. For example, another recent publication in Science showed that tau immunotherapy relies mainly on the intracellular antibody receptor TRIM21, which contributes to the neutralization of tau-antibody complexes.6 Despite the rapid development in this field, tau immunotherapies are of exceptional complexity. Rockland supports research in the fields of tauopathies and tau immunotherapy with specific antibodies and a wide range of full-length, mutated, and truncated tau proteins.

 

TAU Pathway Antibodies

Product Clonality Reactivity Application
CaM Kinase II Antibody Polyclonal Mouse WB, ELISA
CaM Kinase II phospho T286 Antibody Polyclonal Mouse, Rat WB
CaMKII Antibody Monoclonal Mouse, Rat, Bovine WB, IHC, IF, IP
CaMKII Antibody Monoclonal Rat WB, IHC, IF, IP
Cdk5 Antibody Monclonal Human, Mouse, Rat WB, IHC
CDK5 Antibody Polyclonal Human, Mouse, Rat WB, IHC
ERK-MAPK Antibody Polyclonal Human, Mouse, Rat WB
ERK-MAPK phospho T202/phospho Y204 Antibody Polyclonal Human, Mouse, Rat WB, IHC
GSK3 Beta phospho S9 Antibody Polyclonal Human WB, IHC, ELISA
MAPK 8/9 Antibody Polyclonal Human, Mouse, Rat WB, IHC
p38 Antibody Polyclonal Broad WB, IHC, IF, IP
P38 Antibody Polyclonal Human, Mouse WB, IHC, ELISA
p38 alpha MAPKinase Antibody Monoclonal Human WB, IHC, IP
p38 MAPK phospho T180/phospho Y182 Antibody Polyclonal Human WB, IHC
p70 S6 Kinase Antibody Polyclonal Mouse WB, IP, ELISA
TAU Antibody Polyclonal Human, Rat WB, IHC
Tau phospho S416 Antibody Polyclonal Mouse, Rat WB, IHC
TRIM21 Antibody Polyclonal Human WB, IHC, IF, ELISA

 

TAU Proteins

Product Protein Fragment Mutation
Tau-316 protein Tau-316    
Tau-352 protein Tau-352    
Tau-381 protein Tau-381    
Tau-383 protein Tau-383    
Tau-410 protein Tau-410    
Tau-412 protein Tau-412    
Tau-441 protein Tau-441    
Tau-441 (1-391) protein Tau-441 1-391  
Tau-441 (1-421) protein Tau-441 1-421  
Tau-441 (50-421) protein Tau-441 50-421  
Tau-441 (50-391) protein Tau-441 50-391  
Tau-441 (50-441) protein Tau-441 50-441  
Tau-441 (99-441) protein Tau-441 99-441  
Tau-441 (127-421) protein Tau-441 127-421  
Tau-441 (151-391) protein Tau-441 151-391  
Tau-441 (151-421) protein Tau-441 151-421  
Tau-441 (151-441) protein Tau-441 151-441  
Tau-441 (216-391) protein Tau-441 216-391  
Tau-441 (231-391) protein Tau-441 231-391  
Tau-441 (231-421) protein Tau-441 231-421  
Tau-441 (231-441) protein Tau-441 231-441  
Tau-441 (244-372) protein Tau-441 244-372  
Tau-441 (S198A) protein Tau-441   S198A
Tau-441 (S198E) protein Tau-441   S198E
Tau-441 (S199E) protein Tau-441   S199E
Tau-441 (S214A) protein Tau-441   S214A
Tau-441 (K257T) protein Tau-441   K257T
Tau-441 (L266V) protein Tau-441   L266V
Tau-441 (G272V) protein Tau-441   G272V
Tau-441 (N279K) protein Tau-441   N279K
Tau-441 (dK280) protein Tau-441   dK280
Tau-441 (dN296) protein Tau-441   dN296
Tau-441 (P301L) protein Tau-441   P301L
Tau-441 (P301S) protein Tau-441   P301S
Tau-441 (S305N) protein Tau-441   S305N
Tau-441 (V337M) protein Tau-441   V337M
Tau-441 (S352L) protein Tau-441   S352L
Tau-441 (S404A) protein Tau-441   S404A
Tau-441 (S404E) protein Tau-441   S404E
Tau-441 (R406W) protein Tau-441   R406W

References