Biophysics and Physicobiology- HOME
- Story of the Cover
Story of the Cover
Inducing aggresome and stable tau aggregation in Neuro2a cells with an optogenetic tool
(Shigeo Sakuragi, Tomoya Uchida, Naoki Kato, Boxiao Zhao, Toshiki Takahashi, Akito Hattori, Yoshihiro Sakata, Yoshiyuki Soeda, Akihiko Takashima, Hideaki Yoshimura, Gen Matsumoto, Hiroko Bannai, Biophysics and Physicobiology 22, e210023 (2024), DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.bppb-v21.0023))
OptoTau (left), an optogenetic module that manipulates tau dynamics by blue light illumination, comprises CRY2olig and human tau with P301L mutation. The behavior of tau in OptoTau-expressing Neuro2a cells varied depending on the temporal pattern of blue light exposure. Continuous blue light illumination induced tau accumulation into aggresomes that isolate toxic proteins (right, top), while blue light exposure with a light-dark cycle induced stable tau aggregation (right, bottom). OptoTau, which can cause various stages of tau aggregation depending on the temporal pattern of blue light exposure, will be a promising tool for studying the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.