My talk will focus on the Tau protein, an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) that binds to microtubules and can form fibrillar aggregates, a process that has been linked with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to forming fibrils, the Tau protein can also phase separate into a protein rich and a protein depleted phase, a process known as liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). This process may play a protective role in the cell against pathological fibrillization. I will present molecular dynamics and field theoretic simulations that map out the phase diagram for Tau LLPS, and use this phase diagram to predict the conditions under which Tau can be driven towards LLPS under <i>live </i>cell coculturing conditions.

Self-assembly of the Tau protein

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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