Tau (monoclonal antibody)

Class

Anti-tau monoclonal antibody

Tau is a protein normally found inside neurons, where it binds and stabilizes microtubules, the structural tracks that support axonal transport. In several neurodegenerative diseases, collectively called tauopathies, tau becomes abnormally modified (particularly by excess phosphorylation), detaches from microtubules, and misfolds into aggregates that spread from neuron to neuron in a prion-like fashion, contributing to neuronal dysfunction and loss. Alzheimer's disease is the most prominent example, though tau pathology also drives progressive supranuclear palsy and related disorders. Therapeutic strategies target tau to interrupt this cascade rather than to restore its normal microtubule-binding function. Monoclonal antibodies are designed to bind extracellular tau species, particularly forms released by dying or stressed neurons, and prevent their uptake by healthy neighboring cells, thereby slowing the spread of pathology through brain networks. Active vaccines aim to stimulate a patient's own immune system to generate antibodies against pathological tau continuously, rather than relying on repeated antibody infusions. Small molecules can instead act by reducing production of the tau protein itself. Because the antibodies and vaccines in this class differ in which region or conformation of tau they recognize, they represent parallel attempts to interrupt different steps of the same underlying pathological process.