Neuronal calcium dysregulation in mice at an early stage of tauopathy and its alleviation by a tau antibody

Tau immunotherapies are promising approaches to treat Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies. How tau antibodies restore neuronal function remains unknown. Neuronal activity can be monitored by two‐photon calcium imaging in awake and behaving animals. Using this method, we observed altered neuronal calcium activity in the motor cortex of 12‐month‐old JNPL3 tauopathy mice during quiet wakefulness or forced running (Wu Q et al, Neurobiol. Dis. 2021). We also demonstrated that a mouse monoclonal antibody, targeting phosphorylated tau‐Ser396/Ser404, significantly restored the abnormal calcium activity and decreased pathological tau levels in these mice. Analysis of possible neuronal functional deficits and tau antibody efficacy in younger tauopathy mice warrants further investigation.