What underpins neuronal vulnerability to tau pathology?
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Tau pathology does not appear to affect all neuronal populations in the human brain to the same extent. Some brain regions are clearly more vulnerable and affected early on in Alzheimer’s disease, whilst others appear more resistant and are unaffected until the very late stages of neurodegeneration. Using a very elegant set of genetic tools that enable tight temporal and spatial control of gene expression at the level of individual neurons, Lovesha Sivanantharajah, the Alzheimer Society junior fellow who is conducting this research, seeks to identify neuronal sub-populations that are resistant and those that are vulnerable to development of tau pathology. Her aim is to delineate the mechanism(s) responsible for vulnerability and resistance. This project is an ongoing collaboration between the Shepherd lab at the University of Bangor, where this work is conducted, and the Mudher lab.
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