Overview
- UC Riverside scientists report that amyloid beta binds neuronal microtubules with strength comparable to tau, indicating direct competition inside cells.
- Fluorescence polarization assays using labeled Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 measured binding to tubulin and assembled microtubules, confirming robust interactions.
- Competitive experiments showed added recombinant tau reduced but did not abolish amyloid beta binding, consistent with shared or overlapping sites.
- Sequence homology analyses found similarity between amyloid beta and tau microtubule-binding regions, supporting the proposed ‘microtubule nexus’.
- The peer-reviewed PNAS Nexus study is preclinical and in vitro, and the authors note the hypothesis requires in vivo validation and mechanistic testing, with prior observations on aging-related autophagy decline and lithium’s microtubule-stabilizing effects offering convergent clues.