Assays for the Screening and Characterization of Tau Aggregation Inhibitors

Methods Mol Biol. 2017:1523:129-140. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6598-4_8.

Abstract

Aggregation of tau protein is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative tauopathies. Inhibition of tau aggregation could provide a method for the treatment of these disorders. Methods to identify tau aggregation inhibitors (TAIs) in vitro are useful and here we describe assays for TAIs using purified recombinant tau protein fragments in a cell-free immunoassay format and a stably transfected cell model to create a more physiological environment.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; ELISA; Immunoassay; Tau aggregation inhibitor; Tau protein.

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Biological Assay / methods*
  • Cell Line
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Immunoassay
  • Mice
  • Neuroprotective Agents / therapeutic use
  • Protein Aggregation, Pathological / drug therapy*
  • Protein Aggregation, Pathological / metabolism*
  • tau Proteins / antagonists & inhibitors
  • tau Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Neuroprotective Agents
  • tau Proteins