Investigating the Effects of Patient-Derived Exosomes on Nuclear Relocalization of Tau in Neurons

Date of Award

Winter 3-22-2025

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.S. in Biological Sciences

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Yan Qin

Second Advisor

Van Engelenburg

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease, COVID-19, Down syndrome, Exosomes, Tau

Abstract

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the presence of amyloid beta plaques, tau tangles, and disrupted autophagy. Patient plasma and CSF can be analyzed for AD biomarkers such as Aβ plaques or tau antibodies and used for early disease detection. Current research has found a strong correlation between the cytoplasmic-to nuclear relocalization of tau and AD pathology. Furthermore, new findings have shown the appearance of tau in exosomes, suggesting that exosomes might be involved in the spread of hyperphosphorylated tau between neurons. To test this, we examined the subcellular localization of tau in both primary hippocampal and cortical neurons and fibroblast-like COS-7 cells. Our results showed that AD patient-derived exosomes from cerebral tissue significantly enhanced the nuclear localization of tau in both cell types. Our results not only established a primary neuron model to study the pathological mechanisms of AD, but also provided strong evidence that exosomes carry cargoes that can transform normal neurons, thereby affecting neuronal functions.

Copyright Date

3-31-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.

Rights Holder

Nicole Doris

Provenance

Received from Author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

18 pgs

File Size

1.04 MB

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