Biomaterial Database

Posttranslational modifications of tau in paired helical filaments. 1994

M Morishima, and Y Ihara

Department of Neuropathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.

Paired helical filaments (PHF) are fibrillar structures that accumulate in degenerating neurons of AD brain. We have purified their components, PHF-tau and PHF-smear, and analyzed them protein chemically. PHF-tau is abnormally phosphorylated. Although the characteristic of this phosphorylation is similar to that of fetal tau, its extent is higher in PHF-tau. The additional phosphorylation in PHF-tau may cause its loss of microtubule assembly capacity. Our results on the phosphorylation sites suggested that fetal tau and presumably PHF-tau are in vivo substrates of proline-directed protein kinases. PHF-smear consisted largely of the carboxyl-terminal portion of tau and ubiquitin. The ubiquitin-targeted protein was identified as tau in PHF and the conjugation sites were localized to the microtubule-binding region. It is most likely that abnormally phosphorylated full-length tau (PHF-tau) accumulates as PHF, which is then gradually processed from its amino-terminus and followed by ubiquitination.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D010766	Phosphorylation	The introduction of a phosphoryl group into a compound through the formation of an ester bond between the compound and a phosphorus moiety.	Phosphorylations
D011499	Protein Processing, Post-Translational	Any of various enzymatically catalyzed post-translational modifications of PEPTIDES or PROTEINS in the cell of origin. These modifications include carboxylation; HYDROXYLATION; ACETYLATION; PHOSPHORYLATION; METHYLATION; GLYCOSYLATION; ubiquitination; oxidation; proteolysis; and crosslinking and result in changes in molecular weight and electrophoretic motility.	Amino Acid Modification, Post-Translational,Post-Translational Modification,Post-Translational Protein Modification,Posttranslational Modification,Protein Modification, Post-Translational,Amino Acid Modification, Posttranslational,Post-Translational Amino Acid Modification,Post-Translational Modifications,Post-Translational Protein Processing,Posttranslational Amino Acid Modification,Posttranslational Modifications,Posttranslational Protein Processing,Protein Processing, Post Translational,Protein Processing, Posttranslational,Amino Acid Modification, Post Translational,Modification, Post-Translational,Modification, Post-Translational Protein,Modification, Posttranslational,Modifications, Post-Translational,Modifications, Post-Translational Protein,Modifications, Posttranslational,Post Translational Amino Acid Modification,Post Translational Modification,Post Translational Modifications,Post Translational Protein Modification,Post Translational Protein Processing,Post-Translational Protein Modifications,Processing, Post-Translational Protein,Processing, Posttranslational Protein,Protein Modification, Post Translational,Protein Modifications, Post-Translational
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000544	Alzheimer Disease	A degenerative disease of the BRAIN characterized by the insidious onset of DEMENTIA. Impairment of MEMORY, judgment, attention span, and problem solving skills are followed by severe APRAXIAS and a global loss of cognitive abilities. The condition primarily occurs after age 60, and is marked pathologically by severe cortical atrophy and the triad of SENILE PLAQUES; NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES; and NEUROPIL THREADS. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1049-57)	Acute Confusional Senile Dementia,Alzheimer's Diseases,Dementia, Alzheimer Type,Dementia, Senile,Presenile Alzheimer Dementia,Senile Dementia, Alzheimer Type,Alzheimer Dementia,Alzheimer Disease, Early Onset,Alzheimer Disease, Late Onset,Alzheimer Sclerosis,Alzheimer Syndrome,Alzheimer Type Senile Dementia,Alzheimer's Disease,Alzheimer's Disease, Focal Onset,Alzheimer-Type Dementia (ATD),Dementia, Presenile,Dementia, Primary Senile Degenerative,Early Onset Alzheimer Disease,Familial Alzheimer Disease (FAD),Focal Onset Alzheimer's Disease,Late Onset Alzheimer Disease,Primary Senile Degenerative Dementia,Senile Dementia, Acute Confusional,Alzheimer Dementias,Alzheimer Disease, Familial (FAD),Alzheimer Diseases,Alzheimer Type Dementia,Alzheimer Type Dementia (ATD),Alzheimers Diseases,Dementia, Alzheimer,Dementia, Alzheimer-Type (ATD),Familial Alzheimer Diseases (FAD),Presenile Dementia,Sclerosis, Alzheimer,Senile Dementia
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D014452	Ubiquitins	A family of proteins that are structurally-related to Ubiquitin. Ubiquitins and ubiquitin-like proteins participate in diverse cellular functions, such as protein degradation and HEAT-SHOCK RESPONSE, by conjugation to other proteins.	Ubiquitin-Like Protein,Ubiquitin-Like Proteins,Protein, Ubiquitin-Like,Proteins, Ubiquitin-Like,Ubiquitin Like Protein,Ubiquitin Like Proteins
D016874	Neurofibrillary Tangles	Abnormal structures located in various parts of the brain and composed of dense arrays of paired helical filaments (neurofilaments and microtubules). These double helical stacks of transverse subunits are twisted into left-handed ribbon-like filaments that likely incorporate the following proteins: (1) the intermediate filaments: medium- and high-molecular-weight neurofilaments; (2) the microtubule-associated proteins map-2 and tau; (3) actin; and (4) UBIQUITINS. As one of the hallmarks of ALZHEIMER DISEASE, the neurofibrillary tangles eventually occupy the whole of the cytoplasm in certain classes of cell in the neocortex, hippocampus, brain stem, and diencephalon. The number of these tangles, as seen in post mortem histology, correlates with the degree of dementia during life. Some studies suggest that tangle antigens leak into the systemic circulation both in the course of normal aging and in cases of Alzheimer disease.	Neurofibrillary Tangle,Tangle, Neurofibrillary,Tangles, Neurofibrillary
D016875	tau Proteins	Microtubule-associated proteins that are mainly expressed in neurons. Tau proteins constitute several isoforms and play an important role in the assembly of tubulin monomers into microtubules and in maintaining the cytoskeleton and axonal transport. Aggregation of specific sets of tau proteins in filamentous inclusions is the common feature of intraneuronal and glial fibrillar lesions (NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES; NEUROPIL THREADS) in numerous neurodegenerative disorders (ALZHEIMER DISEASE; TAUOPATHIES).	tau Protein,Protein, tau,Proteins, tau