Current research

Two proteins build up in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid and tau. Both of them can be toxic to nerve cells in the brain and cause damage. Tara Caffrey at the University of Oxford will be studying tau gene and protein to find out more.

In a healthy brain, tau helps nerve cells communicate with each other. It does this by keeping the miniature transport systems in cells running. Slight changes in the tau gene have found to be associated with several diseases including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The gene that makes the tau protein is called MAPT. Tara aims to find out if specific changes in the MAPT gene have an effect on tau function.

To do this she will use a cell culture system in the laboratory. She will individually introduce each genetic change into the cells and then measure how much tau is made, what type it is and its effects on cell transport systems. If successful, this study will provide a link between the strong genetic disease-association of MAPT and the processes inside cells that lead to disease.