The presence of disease‐associated tau leads to adverse effects on the autophagy and endolysosomal pathway in a cell model of tauopathy

Dysfunctions in the autophagy and endolysosomal pathways have been reported in Alzheimer’s Disease and related tauopathies. The presence of disease‐associated tau itself may play a role in damaging these pathways leading to its altered clearance. Minimal expression of a disease‐associated truncated tau species (Tau35) in mice results in a progressive tauopathy phenotype, including increased tau phosphorylation, cognitive and behavioural abnormalities and impaired protein clearance. In this study, we sought to explore the effects of Tau35 on the autophagy and endolysosomal pathway in cultured cells expressing Tau35 and from Tau35 mice.