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Talk by Susanne Wegmann
Title: "Tau protein condensation: implications for neuronal function and disease"
Occasion: SFB Seminar
Host: Roland Brandt
Start: 16.06.2022 - 16:15
Location: CellNanOs 38/201
About the speaker: Susanne Wegmann heads the working group "Protein Actions in Neurodegeneration" at the DZNE eV, partner of the Medical University Charité in Berlin.
Abstract of the talk: The intrinsically disordered microtubule associated protein Tau (MAPT) can take on different conformations and assembly forms that are thought to be associated with its functions and misfunctions in the brain. For example, monomeric/dimeric diffuse Tau has been implicated in the microtubule binding activity of Tau, whereas oligomeric or aggregated Tau are associated with Tau toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease and tauopathy brains. The most recently discovered assembly state are liquid-like condensates of Tau that can evolve in the presence of polyanionic cofactors, such as RNA, and cellular molecular crowding through the process of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). Although containing the same monomolecular Tau building blocks, the different Tau assembly forms have specific physical and chemical characteristics that enable assembly state specific interactions and actions in the cell.
In this talk, MS Wegmann will introduce the concept of Tau LLPS and layout recent evidence for the role of biomolecular Tau condensates in neuro(patho)biology, including physiological microtubule binding and pathological Tau nuclear envelope association and aggregation.
