Ectosomes, New Biomarkers of Tau Pathology?

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), neurofibrillary degeneration (NFD) is characterized by the intraneuronal aggregation of Tau proteins. The pathology progresses through a hierarchical pathway that may be associated with the intercellular transmission of pathology as demonstrated in our rat models. This transmission implies that Tau is actively secreted and may participate to the first steps of Tau pathology spreading. It is demonstrated in cell lines and animal models (rodents and non-human primates) that Tau is secreted not only in free forms but also in extracellular vesicles. If Tau is found in biological fluids before neuronal death it may represent an early marker of the NFD and will also define therapeutically targets. In this context, the aim is now to transfer this knowledge in humans and to decipher the nature of Tau secreted in plasma and cerebrospinal fluids collected from healthy controls to AD patients, and to decipher if the presence of tau inside vesicles is influenced by the pathology.