Tau antibody 77G7 targeting microtubule binding domain suppresses oligomeric tau to seed tau aggregation

Neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) of hyperphosphorylated tau is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Tau lesion starts in the trans‐entorhinal cortex, from where it spreads to limbic regions, followed by neocortical areas. The regional distribution of NFTs associates with the progression of AD. Accumulating evidence suggests that proteopathic tau can seed tau aggregation in a prion‐like fashion in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of the seeding activity of proteopathic tau could provide a potential therapeutic opportunity to block the propagation of tau pathology. In the present study, we investigated the role of 77G7, a monoclonal tau antibody to the microtubule‐binding repeats, in the seeding activity of proteopathic tau.