Study on interaction between microtubule associated protein tau and prion protein

Microtubule-associated protein tau is considered to play roles in many neurodegenerative diseases including some transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. To address the possible molecular linkage of prion protein (PrP) and tau, a GST-fusion segment of human tau covering the three-repeat region and various PrP segments was used in the tests of GST pull-down and immunoprecipitation. We found tau protein interacted with various style prion proteins such as native prion protein (PrPC) or protease-resistant isoform (PrPSc). Co-localization signals of tau and PrP were found in the CHO cell transfected with both PrP and tau gene. The domain of interaction with tau was located at N-terminal of PrP (residues 23 to 91). The evidence of molecular interactions between PrP and tau protein highlights a potential role of tau in the biological function of PrP and the pathogenesis of TSEs.