The content and phosphorylation of neurofilament in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease increased.
FILAMENT
"Abnormal neurofilament plays an important role in the development of axonal transport disorder and Alzheimer's disease like neurodegeneration."
Neurofibrillary tangles found in Alzheimer's disease are caused by hyperphosphorylation of tau.
Tau phosphorylation can occur at many sites, usually caused by kinases GSK3 and Cdk5, and leads to the decrease of microtubule binding ability.
Hyperphosphorylation leads to tau dissociation, followed by microtubule instability and tau oligomerization.
Neurofibrillary tangles are a collection of paired spiral filaments composed of hyperphosphorylated tau.
Tau protein can form virus like "seeds", which can spread from neurons to neurons.