Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology

The aggregation of Tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is associated with cognitive decline. Recent studies have revealed that neuronal cytoskeletal instability drives early AD pathogenesis. The physiological interaction between tau and the microt...

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Main Authors: Gege Jiang, Guanfeng Xie, Xiaoyi Li, Jing Xiong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Biomolecules
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15/6/831
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author Gege Jiang
Guanfeng Xie
Xiaoyi Li
Jing Xiong
author_facet Gege Jiang
Guanfeng Xie
Xiaoyi Li
Jing Xiong
author_sort Gege Jiang
collection DOAJ
description The aggregation of Tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is associated with cognitive decline. Recent studies have revealed that neuronal cytoskeletal instability drives early AD pathogenesis. The physiological interaction between tau and the microtubule (MT) is crucial for maintaining axonal transport and stability. However, aberrant post-translational modifications (PTMs) in the MT binding domain—such as phosphorylation, acetylation and ubiquitination—trigger tau dissociation, causing microtubule collapse, transport deficits, and synaptic dysfunction. MT dysregulation also affects actin/cofilin-mediated dendritic spine destabilization and causes the hyperplasia of the glial intermediate filament, which exacerbates neuroinflammation and synaptic toxicity. This review systematically explores the functions of neuronal cytoskeletons, deciphers the molecular crosstalk between tau pathology and cytoskeletal remodeling, and proposes multi-target therapeutic strategies to restore cytoskeletal homeostasis, thereby providing novel perspectives for precision interventions in AD
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institution Kabale University
issn 2218-273X
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Biomolecules
spelling doaj-art-7ab8d97d84c94df3a67d3c7cefc358ec2025-08-20T03:26:25ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2025-06-0115683110.3390/biom15060831Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau PathologyGege Jiang0Guanfeng Xie1Xiaoyi Li2Jing Xiong3Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, ChinaDepartment of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, ChinaThe aggregation of Tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is associated with cognitive decline. Recent studies have revealed that neuronal cytoskeletal instability drives early AD pathogenesis. The physiological interaction between tau and the microtubule (MT) is crucial for maintaining axonal transport and stability. However, aberrant post-translational modifications (PTMs) in the MT binding domain—such as phosphorylation, acetylation and ubiquitination—trigger tau dissociation, causing microtubule collapse, transport deficits, and synaptic dysfunction. MT dysregulation also affects actin/cofilin-mediated dendritic spine destabilization and causes the hyperplasia of the glial intermediate filament, which exacerbates neuroinflammation and synaptic toxicity. This review systematically explores the functions of neuronal cytoskeletons, deciphers the molecular crosstalk between tau pathology and cytoskeletal remodeling, and proposes multi-target therapeutic strategies to restore cytoskeletal homeostasis, thereby providing novel perspectives for precision interventions in ADhttps://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15/6/831Alzheimer’s diseaseearly stageneuronal cytoskeletontaupost-translationally modified
spellingShingle Gege Jiang
Guanfeng Xie
Xiaoyi Li
Jing Xiong
Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology
Biomolecules
Alzheimer’s disease
early stage
neuronal cytoskeleton
tau
post-translationally modified
title Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology
title_full Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology
title_fullStr Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology
title_full_unstemmed Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology
title_short Cytoskeletal Proteins and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis: Focusing on the Interplay with Tau Pathology
title_sort cytoskeletal proteins and alzheimer s disease pathogenesis focusing on the interplay with tau pathology
topic Alzheimer’s disease
early stage
neuronal cytoskeleton
tau
post-translationally modified
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/15/6/831
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AT guanfengxie cytoskeletalproteinsandalzheimersdiseasepathogenesisfocusingontheinterplaywithtaupathology
AT xiaoyili cytoskeletalproteinsandalzheimersdiseasepathogenesisfocusingontheinterplaywithtaupathology
AT jingxiong cytoskeletalproteinsandalzheimersdiseasepathogenesisfocusingontheinterplaywithtaupathology