Tau protein

MAPT
Identifiers
Aliases	MAPT, DDPAC, FTDP-17, MAPTL, MSTD, MTBT1, MTBT2, PPND, PPP1R103, TAU, microtubule associated protein tau, Tau proteins, tau-40
External IDs	OMIM: 157140; MGI: 97180; GeneCards: MAPT
Available structures PDB Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB List of PDB id codes 1I8H, 4GLR, 2ON9, 3OVL, 4E0M, 4E0N, 4E0O, 4FL5, 4NP8, 2MZ7, 4TQE, 4Y5I, 4Y32, 5DMG, 4Y3B, 5HF3, 5E2W, 5E2V
Gene location (Human) Chr. Chromosome 17 (human) Band 17q21.31 Start 45,894,527 bp End 46,028,334 bp
Gene location (Mouse) Chr. Chromosome 11 (mouse) Band 11 67.79 cM|11 E1 Start 104,231,390 bp End 104,332,090 bp
RNA expression pattern Bgee Human Mouse (ortholog) Top expressed in superior frontal gyrus prefrontal cortex right frontal lobe right hemisphere of cerebellum Brodmann area 9 primary visual cortex anterior cingulate cortex hypothalamus hippocampus proper temporal lobe Top expressed in ventromedial nucleus lateral septal nucleus central gray substance of midbrain perirhinal cortex mammillary body CA3 field lateral hypothalamus temporal lobe entorhinal cortex nucleus of stria terminalis More reference expression data BioGPS More reference expression data
Gene ontology Molecular function apolipoprotein binding SH3 domain binding tubulin binding protein binding lipoprotein particle binding enzyme binding DNA binding actin binding microtubule binding dynactin binding receptor ligand activity protein phosphatase 2A binding Hsp90 protein binding minor groove of adenine-thymine-rich DNA binding double-stranded DNA binding single-stranded DNA binding RNA binding protein kinase binding protein-macromolecule adaptor activity phosphatidylinositol binding identical protein binding protein homodimerization activity sequence-specific DNA binding chaperone binding histone-dependent DNA binding microtubule lateral binding phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate binding Cellular component cytoplasm cell body cell projection nuclear periphery growth cone neurofibrillary tangle plasma membrane tubulin complex dendrite cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granule cytoskeleton nucleus cytosol microtubule microtubule associated complex membrane nuclear speck axon somatodendritic compartment soma axon cytoplasm extracellular region intracellular anatomical structure mitochondrion microtubule cytoskeleton axolemma neuron projection dendritic spine main axon membrane raft glial cell projection Biological process generation of neurons regulation of autophagy regulation of microtubule polymerization positive regulation of microtubule polymerization positive regulation of axon extension microtubule cytoskeleton organization microglial cell activation activation of cysteine-type endopeptidase activity involved in apoptotic process signal transduction memory negative regulation of mitochondrial membrane potential axonal transport of mitochondrion cytoplasmic microtubule organization neuron projection development positive regulation of superoxide anion generation negative regulation of kinase activity cellular response to heat astrocyte activation intracellular distribution of mitochondria synapse organization regulation of calcium-mediated signaling protein complex oligomerization plus-end-directed organelle transport along microtubule regulation of mitochondrial fission negative regulation of mitochondrial fission axonal transport regulation of cellular response to heat positive regulation of neuron death positive regulation of protein localization to synapse neurofibrillary tangle assembly negative regulation of establishment of protein localization to mitochondrion positive regulation of diacylglycerol kinase activity regulation of response to DNA damage stimulus internal protein amino acid acetylation cell-cell signaling response to lead ion regulation of signaling receptor activity negative regulation of gene expression rRNA metabolic process central nervous system neuron development regulation of microtubule polymerization or depolymerization regulation of chromosome organization stress granule assembly cellular response to reactive oxygen species microtubule polymerization regulation of synaptic plasticity axon development regulation of microtubule cytoskeleton organization supramolecular fiber organization regulation of long-term synaptic depression positive regulation of protein localization negative regulation of tubulin deacetylation amyloid fibril formation cellular response to nerve growth factor stimulus cellular response to brain-derived neurotrophic factor stimulus Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs Databases NCBI: entry; OMA: entry Species Human Mouse Entrez 4137 17762 Ensembl ENSG00000186868 ENSG00000276155 ENSG00000277956 ENSMUSG00000018411 UniProt P10636 P10637 RefSeq (mRNA) NM_001123066 NM_001123067 NM_001203251 NM_001203252 NM_005910 NM_016834 NM_016835 NM_016841 NM_001377265 NM_001377266 NM_001377267 NM_001377268 NM_001038609 NM_010838 NM_001285454 NM_001285455 NM_001285456 RefSeq (protein) NP_001116538 NP_001116539 NP_001190180 NP_001190181 NP_005901 NP_058518 NP_058519 NP_058525 NP_001364194 NP_001364195 NP_001364196 NP_001364197 NP_001033698 NP_001272383 NP_001272384 NP_001272385 NP_034968 NP_001390904 NP_001390905 NP_001390906 NP_001390907 NP_001390908 NP_001390909 NP_001390910 NP_001390911 NP_001390912 NP_001390913 NP_001390916 NP_001390919 NP_001390921 NP_001390923 NP_001390925 NP_001390927 NP_001390928 NP_001390931 NP_001390933 NP_001390934 NP_001390935 NP_001390939 NP_001390940 NP_001390941 NP_001390943 NP_001390944 NP_001390945 Location (UCSC) Chr 17: 45.89 – 46.03 Mb Chr 11: 104.23 – 104.33 Mb PubMed search
Wikidata
View/Edit Human View/Edit Mouse

The tau proteins (abbreviated from tubulin associated unit) form a group of six highly soluble protein isoforms produced by alternative splicing from the gene MAPT (microtubule-associated protein tau). They have roles primarily in maintaining the stability of microtubules in axons and are abundant in the neurons of the central nervous system (CNS), where the cerebral cortex has the highest abundance. They are less common elsewhere but are also expressed at very low levels in CNS astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.

Pathologies and dementias of the nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are associated with tau proteins that have become hyperphosphorylated insoluble aggregates called neurofibrillary tangles. The tau proteins were identified in 1975 as heat-stable proteins essential for microtubule assembly, and since then they have been characterized as intrinsically disordered proteins.

Neurons were grown in tissue culture and stained with antibody to MAP2 protein in green and MAP tau in red using the immunofluorescence technique. MAP2 is found only in dendrites and perikarya, while tau is found not only in the dendrites and perikarya but also in axons. As a result, axons appear red while the dendrites and perikarya appear yellow, due to superimposition of the red and green signals. DNA is shown in blue using the DAPI stain which highlights the nuclei. Image courtesy EnCor Biotechnology Inc.