Tau in the brain interstitial fluid is fragmented and seeding-competent

Abstract

In Alzheimer disease, Tau pathology is thought to propagate from cell to cell throughout interconnected brain areas. However, the forms of Tau released into the brain interstitial fluid (ISF) in vivo during the development of Tauopathy and their pathological relevance remain unclear. Combining in vivo microdialysis and biochemical analysis, we find that in Tau transgenic mice, human Tau (hTau) present in brain ISF is truncated and comprises at least 10 distinct fragments spanning the entire Tau protein. The fragmentation pattern is similar across different Tau transgenic models, pathological stages and brain areas. ISF hTau concentration decreases during Tauopathy progression, while its phosphorylation increases. ISF from mice with established Tauopathy induces Tau aggregation in HEK293-Tau biosensor cells. Notably, immunodepletion of ISF phosphorylated Tau, but not Tau fragments, significantly reduces its ability to seed Tau aggregation and only a fraction of Tau, separated by ultracentrifugation, is seeding competent. These results indicate that ISF seeding competence is driven by a small subset of Tau, which potentially contribute to the propagation of Tau pathology. HighlightsO_LIIn interstitial fluid (ISF) of transgenic mice, Tau comprises >10 distinct fragments C_LIO_LIISF Tau decreases with Tauopathy progression, while its phosphorylation increases C_LIO_LIOnly ISF from mice with established Tauopathy is seeding competent in vitro C_LIO_LIRemoval of phospho-Tau reduces ISF seeding competence C_LIO_LIISF seeding competence is driven by less soluble, aggregated and phosphorylated Tau C_LI Graphical abstract O_FIG_DISPLAY_L [Figure 1] M_FIG_DISPLAY C_FIG_DISPLAY