Super-Resolution Microscopy Sheds Light on How Dementia Protein Becomes Dysfunctional

A study by University of Queensland researchers in eLife details the use of super-resolution microscopy to monitor how key molecules operate in living brain cells, gaining further knowledge about memory formation and the causes of dementia, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers learned the tau protein involved in Alzheimer's impacts the structure of the signaling protein Fyn, which is critical to memory formation. "This is the first time anyone has demonstrated that Fyn nanoclustering is affected by tau," said Queensland Professor Jürgen Götz. Single-molecule imaging in living brain cells enabled unprecedented access to the organization of key proteins in small nanoclusters that could not be detected earlier. "When tau is mutated, Fyn makes aberrantly large clusters, thereby altering nerve signals and contributing to dysfunction of the synapse-junctions between nerve cells," noted Queensland Professor Frédéric Meunier. Investigation of a different mutant of tau detected in families with a high risk of frontotemporal dementia revealed Fyn over-clustering in the spines of dendrites. "The spines of the dendrites are critical to how nerve cells communicate with each other and underpin memory and learning," Meunier commented.