The Beta-Amyloid Protein of Alzheimer’s Disease: Communication Breakdown by Modifying the Neuronal Cytoskeleton

Figure 2

Stabilisation of microtubules by the tau protein is regulated by kinases and phosphatases. Abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins causes catastrophic microtubule depolymerisation and the formation of insoluble cytoplasmic tau oligomers, which aggregate to form protomers. Two protomers twisted around each other to form paired helical filaments (PHFs), which assemble to produce neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs).