Aperçu du projet

In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the accumulation of toxic Tau protein in neurons leads to the formation of neurofbillary tangles, cell death, and cognitive impairments. The precise regulation of Tau levels in neurons is therefore essential to the survival of neurons, and defects in these mechanisms likely play a central part in of AD. Surprisingly, however, we know very little about the mechanisms controlling the levels of Tau in neurons. Elucidating how this works is important as it might help design new drugs to promote the degradation of toxic Tau to treat AD. In this project, Dr. Cayouette and his team will study molecules that they identified as novel regulators of Tau levels in neurons and ask whether their manipulation might prevent neurodegeneration in animal models. This work will form the basis of future studies aimed at developing drugs to stimulate Tau degradation in AD.