The effect of tau protein knockout on stem cells of healthy individuals

Bryan Ng, PhD Student, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, explains his work on the effect of amyloid beta oligomers (Aβ) in tau-deficient human neurons presented at the Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) Conference 2021. His research is based on the removal of tau protein, responsible for the protein aggregates on Alzheimer’s disease brain, from human stem cells and its subsequent differentiation into neurons. The effect of Aβ treatment was analyzed, comparing normal and tau-deficient neurons in terms of number of synapses, axonal transport, neuron outgrowth and neuron electrophysiology. Tau-deficient neurons had a slow axonal outgrowth and functional deficits, while the number of synaptic expressions was maintained. In addition, tau knockout protected the neurons from Aβ toxicity.