Proteasomal degradation of tau protein

Filamentous inclusions composed of the microtubule‐associated protein tau are a defining characteristic of a large number of neurodegenerative diseases. Here we show that tau degradation in stably transfected and non‐transfected SH‐SY5Y cells is blocked by the irreversible proteasome inhibitor lactacystin. Further, we find that in vitro , natively unfolded tau can be directly processed by the 20S proteasome without a requirement for...