protein

TAU

Entity Detail — Knowledge Graph Node

Understanding Entity Pages

This page aggregates everything SciDEX knows about TAU: its mechanistic relationships (Knowledge Graph edges), hypotheses targeting it, analyses mentioning it, and supporting scientific papers. The interactive graph below shows its immediate neighbors. All content is AI-synthesized from peer-reviewed literature.

5660Connections

30Hypotheses

25Analyses

50Outgoing

50Incoming

1Experiments

20Debates

Summary

Microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) stabilizes neuronal microtubules. Hyperphosphorylation causes detachment and aggregation into neurofibrillary tangles, a hallmark of Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies. Pathological tau spreads trans-synaptically and drives neuronal dysfunction.

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🔬 Protein Info

Gene Symbol	TAU
Chromosome	17q21.31
Protein Family	MAPT family
Function	is an important component in the neurobiology of neurodegenerative diseases.
Primary Expression	neurons, where they bind to microtubules and promote their polymerization and stability
Subcellular Localization	Axons, Neurons
Molecular Weight	45-65 kDa (isoform dependent)
Amino Acids	441 aa
Pathways	Extracellular Aggregation, Hyperphosphorylation, Neurofibrillary Tangle Formation, Protein Assembly, Synapse Pathology
GeneCards	TAU
Human Protein Atlas	TAU
Associated Diseases	AD, Aging, Als, Alzheimer, Alzheimer Disease
Known Drugs/Compounds	12A12, Disease-modifying therapy, DONANEMAB, DONEPEZIL, Flavonoids, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Interactions	AB, ABCA1, ABCA7, ABI3, ACE, ACE2
KG Connections	5376 knowledge graph edges
Databases	GeneCards UniProt NCBI Gene HPA STRING

Wiki Pages (3)

Knowledge base pages for this entity

Canonical Page

Pathway Diagram

graph TD
    subgraph Pathology["Pathology"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"associated with"| NEURODEGENERATION["NEURODEGENERATION"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"associated with"| ALZHEIMER_S_DISEASE["ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"associated with"| TAUOPATHY["TAUOPATHY"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"associated with"| Alzheimer_2["Alzheimer"]
        AMYLOID["AMYLOID"] -->|"associated with"| TAU["TAU"]
        MICROGLIA["MICROGLIA"] -->|"associated with"| TAU["TAU"]
        NEUROINFLAMMATION["NEUROINFLAMMATION"] -->|"associated with"| TAU["TAU"]
        AUTOPHAGY["AUTOPHAGY"] -->|"associated with"| TAU["TAU"]
        APP["APP"] -->|"associated with"| TAU["TAU"]
        ALS["ALS"] -->|"associated with"| TAU["TAU"]
    end
    subgraph Signaling["Signaling"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"activates"| NEURODEGENERATION_1["NEURODEGENERATION"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"activates"| Alzheimer["Alzheimer"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"activates"| Als["Als"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"activates"| Autophagy["Autophagy"]
        TAU["TAU"] -->|"activates"| Oxidative_Stress["Oxidative Stress"]
    end
    style TAU fill:#006494,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:3px,color:#e0e0e0,font-weight:bold
    style NEURODEGENERATION fill:#5d4400,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style NEURODEGENERATION_1 fill:#5d4400,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style ALZHEIMER_S_DISEASE fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style TAUOPATHY fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style Alzheimer fill:#ef5350,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style Als fill:#ef5350,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style Autophagy fill:#1b5e20,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style Oxidative_Stress fill:#1b5e20,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style Alzheimer_2 fill:#ef5350,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style AMYLOID fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style MICROGLIA fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style NEUROINFLAMMATION fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style AUTOPHAGY fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style APP fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0
    style ALS fill:#4a1a6b,stroke:#4fc3f7,stroke-width:1px,color:#e0e0e0

Outgoing (2874)

Target	Relation	Type	Str
Neurodegeneration	regulates	disease	1.00
Inflammation	inhibits	disease	1.00
NEUROINFLAMMATION	activates	gene	1.00
Inflammation	activates	disease	1.00
Als	inhibits	disease	1.00
NEUROINFLAMMATION	therapeutic_target	gene	1.00
Als	therapeutic_target	disease	1.00
Inflammation	associated_with	disease	1.00
Neuroinflammation	associated_with	disease	1.00
Neuroinflammation	activates	disease	1.00
Neurodegeneration	therapeutic_target	disease	1.00
Alzheimer	inhibits	disease	1.00
Neurodegeneration	inhibits	disease	1.00
DEMENTIA	associated_with	gene	1.00
Autophagy	activates	pathway	1.00
PSEN1	associated_with	gene	1.00
Als	activates	disease	1.00
Alzheimer	therapeutic_target	disease	1.00
Neurodegeneration	activates	disease	1.00
Als	regulates	disease	1.00
Neuroinflammation	therapeutic_target	disease	1.00
Aging	therapeutic_target	disease	1.00
SNCA	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEURODEGENERATION	activates	phenotype	1.00
NEUROINFLAMMATION	associated_with	gene	1.00
Dementia	associated_with	disease	1.00
Aging	associated_with	disease	1.00
Tauopathy	associated_with	disease	1.00
OXIDATIVE STRESS	associated_with	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	associated_with	gene	1.00
Neurodegeneration	associated_with	disease	1.00
GFAP	associated_with	protein	1.00
GFAP	biomarker_for	gene	1.00
NFL	biomarker_for	gene	1.00
Als	associated_with	disease	1.00
Alzheimer	activates	disease	1.00
ALZHEIMER	associated_with	gene	1.00
TAU PATHOLOGY	associated_with	gene	1.00
Alzheimer	associated_with	disease	1.00
Oxidative Stress	activates	pathway	1.00
Tauopathy	activates	disease	1.00
Alzheimer	interacts_with	disease	1.00
APOE	associated_with	gene	1.00
Alzheimer	regulates	disease	1.00
Inflammation	therapeutic_target	disease	1.00
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE	associated_with	gene	1.00
neurodegeneration	associated_with	phenotype	1.00
NEURODEGENERATION	associated_with	phenotype	1.00
TAUOPATHY	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES	therapeutic_target	gene	1.00

Incoming (2786)

Source	Relation	Type	Str
entities-ferroptosis	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-ampk	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-semorinemab	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-complement-system	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-biiib080	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-prx005	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-simufilam	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-buntanetap	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-overview	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-interleukin-6	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-pnt001	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-hsp90-protein	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-histone-deacetylase	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-fdg-pet	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
entities-irs1	interacts_with	wiki	0.00
AUTOPHAGY	associated_with	gene	1.00
MICROGLIA	activates	gene	1.00
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE	regulates	gene	1.00
AKT	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEURODEGENERATION	activates	gene	1.00
MICROGLIA	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEURODEGENERATION	biomarker_for	gene	1.00
ALS	associated_with	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	regulates	protein	1.00
APP	associated_with	gene	1.00
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE	associated_with	gene	1.00
NF-KB	associated_with	protein	1.00
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE	phosphorylates	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	causes	gene	1.00
APOE	associated_with	gene	1.00
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE	activates	gene	1.00
PARKINSON'S DISEASE	associated_with	gene	1.00
ASTROCYTES	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEURODEGENERATION	targets	gene	1.00
MAPT	associated_with	gene	1.00
TARDBP	associated_with	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	inhibits	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	activates	gene	1.00
APOE	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEUROINFLAMMATION	associated_with	gene	1.00
NEURODEGENERATION	associated_with	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	associated_with	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	interacts_with	gene	1.00
AMYLOID	phosphorylates	gene	1.00
BDNF	associated_with	gene	0.98
APOPTOSIS	associated_with	gene	0.98
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE	causes	gene	0.98
CASP3	associated_with	gene	0.98
GSK-3β	phosphorylates	protein	0.95
Tau Phosphorylation	modulates	process	0.95

Targeting Hypotheses (30)

Hypotheses where this entity is a therapeutic target

Hypothesis	Score	Disease	Analysis
Plasma p-tau217-Triggered Exosome Dosing Maximizes lncRNA-00	0.938	molecular neurobiology	View
Closed-loop transcranial focused ultrasound targeting EC-II	0.922	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Closed-loop focused ultrasound targeting EC-II SST interneur	0.900	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II SST interneurons to block t	0.896	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
GluN2B-Mediated Thalamocortical Control of Glymphatic Tau Cl	0.869	neuroscience	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode

Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II PV interneurons to enhance	0.867	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Closed-loop focused ultrasound targeting EC-II PV interneuro	0.863	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II PV interneurons to suppress	0.857	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II parvalbumin interneurons to	0.831	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Beta-frequency entrainment therapy targeting PV interneuron-	0.827	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Glymphatic-Mediated Tau Clearance Dysfunction	0.821	neuroscience	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
TREM2-Mediated Microglial Dysfunction Disrupts Perivascular	0.812	neuroscience	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
LRP1-Dependent Tau Uptake Disruption	0.808	neurodegeneration	Tau propagation mechanisms and therapeut
Closed-loop transcranial focused ultrasound targeting CA1 PV	0.797	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Microglial-Mediated Tau Clearance Dysfunction via TREM2 Sign	0.792	neuroscience	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
CYP46A1 Suppression for Tau-Mediated Neurodegeneration	0.792	neurodegeneration	Lipid raft composition changes in synapt
Excitatory Neuron Synaptic Dysfunction and Mitochondrial Str	0.790	neurodegeneration	Cell type vulnerability debate in Alzhei
Closed-loop tACS targeting entorhinal cortex layer II SST in	0.784	Alzheimer's disease	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
TREM2-mediated microglial tau clearance enhancement	0.780	neurodegeneration	Tau propagation mechanisms and therapeut
Sleep-Dependent Glymphatic Clearance Expands the Therapeutic	0.780	neurodegeneration	What is the therapeutic window between t
Lysosomal Cathepsin-Dependent Tau Clearance	0.767	neurodegeneration	View
cGAS-STING Pathway Hyperactivation Mediates Tau Propagation	0.760	neurodegeneration	Gap 006 analysis (archived stub)
Dual-Circuit Tau Vulnerability Cascade	0.754	neuroscience	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode
Enhancing Microglial Phagocytosis of Extracellular Tau via T	0.750	neuroscience	Trans-synaptic tau spreading and propaga
Tau/MAP6 ratio as a master switch for microtubule dynamics p	0.750	neurodegeneration	View
Tau dysfunction destabilizes labile pool	0.750	neurodegeneration	View
VPS35 retromer activation prevents endosomal tau templating	0.740	neurodegeneration	Which tau propagation mechanism predomin
Inhibiting Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Receptor-Mediated Ne	0.740	neuroscience	Trans-synaptic tau spreading and propaga
Tau missorting transitions into an autonomous tau-seeding st	0.740	neurodegeneration	Does tau dendritic missorting persist in
Microglial-Mediated Tau Clearance Dysfunction via TREM2 Rece	0.737	neuroscience	Circuit-level neural dynamics in neurode

Mentioning Analyses (25)

Scientific analyses that reference this entity

Survival Analysis of AD Patient Cohorts: Prognostic Markers and Time-to-Dementia

neurodegeneration | 2026-04-16 | 0 hypotheses

Gene Co-expression Network Analysis of AD Progression Modules

neurodegeneration | 2026-04-16 | 0 hypotheses

Extracellular vesicle biomarkers for early AD detection

neurodegeneration | 2026-04-12 | 2 hypotheses Top: 0.665

What are the minimal structural requirements for HSP70/HSP90 inhibitors to achie

drug discovery | 2026-04-09 | 0 hypotheses

Epigenetic reprogramming in aging neurons

neurodegeneration | 2026-04-04 | 9 hypotheses Top: 0.914

Experiments (1)

Experimental studies targeting or related to this entity

Experiment	Type	Disease	Score	Feasibility	Model	Status	Est. Cost
Plant-based dietary patterns and Alzheimer's disease risk in multiethn	clinical	Alzheimer's disease and relate	0.950	0.00	human patients	proposed	N/A

Related Papers (0)

Scientific publications cited in analyses involving this entity

Title & PMID	Authors	Journal	Year	Citations
No papers found

Debates (20)

Multi-agent debates referencing this entity

Investigate prion-like spreading of tau pathology through connected brain region

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.73 · 2026-04-22

What co-expression modules are shared and unique across brain regions in AD, and

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.30 · 2026-04-21

Which clinical, genetic, and biomarker features are independent prognostic marke

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.60 · 2026-04-21

Is a 3-marker prognostic index clinically actionable for MCI patients, or does t

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.70 · 2026-04-16

Is TYROBP a genuine therapeutic target in AD, or is it a downstream marker of mi

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.70 · 2026-04-16

Investigate prion-like spreading of tau pathology through connected brain region

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.90 · 2026-04-12

Protein aggregation cross-seeding across neurodegenerative diseases?

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.70 · 2026-04-12

Which EV-derived biomarkers (phospho-tau, amyloid-beta, synaptic proteins, infla

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.75 · 2026-04-12

PSP and CBD both involve 4R-tau but produce distinct neuropathological patterns

closed · Rounds: 4 · Score: 0.69 · 2026-04-12

TDP-43 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation that becomes pathological. Small

closed · Rounds: 6 · Score: 0.84 · 2026-04-12

Related Research

Hypotheses and analyses mentioning TAU in their description or question text

TAU

Understanding Entity Pages

Summary

Wiki Pages (3)

Granulovacuolar Bodies: Neuronal Defense Mechanism Against Tau Pathology

AMX0035 CENTAUR Trial

STAU2 Gene

Pathway Diagram

Outgoing (2874)

Incoming (2786)

Targeting Hypotheses (30)

Mentioning Analyses (25)

Survival Analysis of AD Patient Cohorts: Prognostic Markers and Time-to-Dementia

Gene Co-expression Network Analysis of AD Progression Modules

Extracellular vesicle biomarkers for early AD detection

What are the minimal structural requirements for HSP70/HSP90 inhibitors to achie

Epigenetic reprogramming in aging neurons

Investigate prion-like spreading of tau pathology through connected brain region

Tau propagation mechanisms and therapeutic interception points

Gene expression changes in aging mouse brain predicting neurodegenerative vulner

Cell type vulnerability in Alzheimers Disease (SEA-AD transcriptomic data)

SEA-AD Gene Expression Profiling — Allen Brain Cell Atlas

TREM2 agonism vs antagonism in DAM microglia

Epigenetic clocks and biological aging in neurodegeneration

Mitochondrial transfer between astrocytes and neurons

Digital biomarkers and AI-driven early detection of neurodegeneration

Senolytic therapy for age-related neurodegeneration

Autophagy-lysosome pathway convergence across neurodegenerative diseases

APOE4 structural biology and therapeutic targeting strategies

TDP-43 phase separation therapeutics for ALS-FTD

Astrocyte reactivity subtypes in neurodegeneration

4R-tau strain-specific spreading patterns in PSP vs CBD

Blood-brain barrier transport mechanisms for antibody therapeutics

Protein aggregation cross-seeding across neurodegenerative diseases

Lipid raft composition changes in synaptic neurodegeneration

What are the mechanisms by which gut microbiome dysbiosis influences Parkinson's

Protein aggregation cross-seeding across neurodegenerative diseases

Experiments (1)

Related Papers (0)

Debates (20)

Investigate prion-like spreading of tau pathology through connected brain region

What co-expression modules are shared and unique across brain regions in AD, and

Which clinical, genetic, and biomarker features are independent prognostic marke

Is a 3-marker prognostic index clinically actionable for MCI patients, or does t

Is TYROBP a genuine therapeutic target in AD, or is it a downstream marker of mi

Investigate prion-like spreading of tau pathology through connected brain region

Protein aggregation cross-seeding across neurodegenerative diseases?

Which EV-derived biomarkers (phospho-tau, amyloid-beta, synaptic proteins, infla

PSP and CBD both involve 4R-tau but produce distinct neuropathological patterns

TDP-43 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation that becomes pathological. Small

Related Research

Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II PV interneurons to enhance perisomatic inhibiti

Closed-loop focused ultrasound targeting EC-II PV interneurons to restore theta-

Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II PV interneurons to suppress burst firing and bl

Closed-loop tACS targeting EC-II parvalbumin interneurons to restore gamma rhyth

Beta-frequency entrainment therapy targeting PV interneuron-astrocyte coupling f

Glymphatic-Mediated Tau Clearance Dysfunction

TREM2-Mediated Microglial Dysfunction Disrupts Perivascular Tau Clearance

LRP1-Dependent Tau Uptake Disruption

Closed-loop transcranial focused ultrasound targeting CA1 PV interneurons with r

Microglial-Mediated Tau Clearance Dysfunction via TREM2 Signaling

CYP46A1 Suppression for Tau-Mediated Neurodegeneration

Excitatory Neuron Synaptic Dysfunction and Mitochondrial Stress via MAPT (tau)

Closed-loop tACS targeting entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneurons to activa

TREM2-mediated microglial tau clearance enhancement

Sleep-Dependent Glymphatic Clearance Expands the Therapeutic Window by Reducing