PET imaging for tau visualization in the brain
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Tau is an excellent biomarker and a major pharmaceutic target for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) given its contribution to neurodegeneration.
Aberrant accumulation and aggregation of phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau), and formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) composed of hyperphosphorylated Tau, are a prominent characteristic of AD. Tau pathology has been linked to both sporadic and familial forms of AD; with over 40 different mutations found in the gene that encodes this protein [microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene].
The use of imaging agents that can efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and detect pathological forms of Tau with high specificity will allow specific monitoring of Tau species, and elucidating their temporal expression, topographical distribution and spatial relationship relative to disease pathology and clinical changes that occur during disease progression.
Non-invasive assessment of Tau deposition and correlation with the extent of neurodegeneration will provide new insights into tau pathology in the human brain.
