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Tau in physiology and pathology
Yipeng Wang, Eckhard Mandelkow. Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2015-12-03
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
This review summarizes the expression, post-translational modifications, and functions of tau in physiology and pathophysiology. Tau is a natively unfolded, highly soluble protein that stabilizes neuronal microtubules and promotes axonal outgrowth, showing little tendency for aggregation. However, the aggregation of tau is characteristic of several neurodegenerative diseases termed tauopathies, though the mechanisms underlying tau pathology and tau-mediated neurodegeneration remain debated.
Key findings
- Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that has a role in stabilizing neuronal microtubules and thus in promoting axonal outgrowth.
- Structurally, tau is a natively unfolded protein, is highly soluble and shows little tendency for aggregation.
- Tau aggregation is characteristic of several neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies.
- New physiological roles for tau in the brain have been identified in recent years.
Why it matters
A review of tau in physiology and disease.
How this study scored 54/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 51 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 54 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Nature reviews. Neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Nature reviews. Neuroscience: journal h-index 572 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | — / 5 | No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2015 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 2,235 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 171.9 citations a year over 13 year(s) since 2015 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 762 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Eckhard Mandelkow�: h-index 129 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY: institution h-index 817 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 26631930) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 51 / 95 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 51 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 54 out of 100. |
| Total | 54 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Wang, Y., & Mandelkow, E. (2015). Tau in physiology and pathology. Nature reviews. Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2015.1
Vancouver
Wang Y, Mandelkow E. Tau in physiology and pathology. Nature reviews. Neuroscience. 2015. doi:10.1038/nrn.2015.1. PMID: 26631930.
BibTeX
@article{wang2015-26631930,
author = {Wang, Yipeng and Mandelkow, Eckhard},
title = {{Tau in physiology and pathology}},
journal = {Nature reviews. Neuroscience},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1038/nrn.2015.1},
pmid = {26631930},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2015.1}
}
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