Assembly of Alzheimer-like filaments from full-length tau protein.

The principal fibrous component of neurofibrillary pathology in Alzheimer's disease, the paired helical filament, is formed from hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau. Here we show that recombinant tau protein either in a non-phosphorylated state or following phosphorylation with brain extract can be assembled in vitro into filaments resembling those seen in Alzheimer's disease.