Unraveling the Mystery of Tau Protein Tangles

Brain diseases like Alzheimer's and CTE have something in common: clumps of a protein called tau. These clumps are a big deal in these diseases. Scientists have been trying to figure out how to stop these clumps from forming. One thing they've noticed is that when a specific spot on the tau protein, called S305, gets a chemical tag, it seems to stop the clumping. But how exactly this happens is still a mystery. To solve this puzzle, researchers used computer simulations. They looked at a tiny piece of the tau protein, from G302 to S316. This piece is important because it's part of the clumps found in Alzheimer's and CTE. They ran these simulations for a really long time, over 57 microseconds, to see what happens when S305 gets that chemical tag. The simulations showed that when S305 is tagged, the protein doesn't fold into a shape that clumps easily. It also doesn't stick to other proteins as much. This means the tagged protein is less likely to form those harmful clumps. The simulations also showed that the tagged protein has a harder time forming small groups, which are the first step in making the big clumps. This is big news because it gives scientists a better idea of how to stop these clumps from forming. If they can find a way to tag S305, they might be able to slow down or even stop these brain diseases. But there's still a lot we don't know. The simulations only looked at a tiny piece of the tau protein. We need to see if this works the same way in the whole protein and in real people. Still, this is a big step forward in understanding and maybe one day treating these diseases.