CONFERENCE COVERAGE SERIES
Tau2020 Global Conference
Washington, D.C.
12 – 13 February 2020
A new meeting in the calendar, Tau2020, covered the biology and pathology of all tauopathies, both primary and secondary. Some of the 650 attendees saw it as an inflection point in tau research, getting researchers to think more broadly and bringing their collective knowledge to bear on a common problem. Highlights included a new staging scheme for tau progression in AD, new ligands for primary tauopathies, cryoEM structures for α-synuclein, and a receptor that facilitates spread of mutant tau in mouse models.
Tau2020: Meeting for Tauopathies Debuts Genetic Variants
By engaging scientists studying every tau-based disorder, a new conference aimed to foster collaborations and research directions.
Behold the First Human α-Synuclein CryoEM Fibril Structure
At the at Tau2020 conference, scientists show high-resolution cryoEM of α-synuclein. Two different types of fibril are composed of asymmetric protofibril units.
New at Tau2020: PET Detects First Traces of Tangles in Rhinal Cortex
Not sure where that is? You are not alone. It is a tiny spot deep behind the nose, newly defined by the PET signal of early neurofibrillary tangle deposition. It also prompted a tau-staging scheme.
Primary Tauopathies Get New PET Ligands
Autopsy data confirm that current tau PET tracers are unsuitable for some primary tauopathies. CryoEM structures help researchers find new ligands for tau and α-synuclein.
Tau Receptor Identified on Cell Surface
At Tau2020 conference, scientists implicate LDL receptor-related protein 1 in cell-to-cell transmission.