Tau isoforms
The tau gene is located on chromosome 17 at position
17q21. The primary transcript contains 16 exons. Three of these
exons can be alternatively included or spliced out. Exons 2, 3 and
10 are the exons involved in this process:
The alternative splicing can generate six different
isoforms of tau, depending on which exons are included. The table
below lists all six tau isoforms along with some data on how they polymerize.
A more detailed description of their polymerization characteristics can
be found in King et. al.,
2000.
|
Variant
|
Exon 2
|
Exon 3
|
Exon 10
|
# of
Residues
|
Mass
(kDa)
|
Polymerization
(low AA)
|
Polymerization
(high AA)
|
Expression
|
|
0N3R
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
352
|
36.8
|
aggregates
|
aggregates
|
fetal
|
|
0N4R
|
-
|
-
|
+
|
383
|
40
|
aggregates
|
aggregates
|
adult
|
|
1N3R
|
+
|
-
|
-
|
381
|
43
|
very little
|
slow
|
adult
|
|
1N4R
|
+
|
-
|
+
|
412
|
39.7
|
slow
|
slow
|
adult
|
|
2N3R
|
+
|
+
|
-
|
410
|
42.6
|
very little
|
fast
|
adult
|
|
2N4R
|
+
|
+
|
+
|
441
|
45.9
|
fast
|
fast
|
adult
|