Insight into Atomic Resolution of the Cross-Seeding between Tau/Mutated Tau and Amyloid-β in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Tau and amyloid-β (Aβ) are the primary components of amyloid plaques in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). Cross-seeding between Aβ and tau, or Aβ and mutated tau, is a key phenomenon observed in these neurodegenerative diseases. This review addresses the importance of investigating Aβ tau and Aβ mutated tau oligomeric complexes at atomic resolution. It also provides an overview of both experimental and computational studies performed on cross-seeding between tau/mutated tau and Aβ, and addresses further directions for future studies. The cross-seeding phenomenon could contribute to explaining, at least in part, the still unknown origins of the pathological conditions and may assist in preventing aggregation in amyloidogenic diseases with drug design and other therapeutic approaches.