Figure 8.

The 17 kDa tau fragment induced neurodegeneration in cultured hippocampal neurons. Fourteen-day-in-culture hippocampal neurons were transfected with GFP (A), full-length Tau-GFP (B), and 17Tau-GFP (C-I). GFP-transfected (A) and full-length Tau-GFP-transfected (B) neurons did not show any sign of degeneration even 48 h after transfection. Normal morphological characteristics were detected also in 17Tau-GFP-transfected cells 24 h after transfection (C). In contrast, hippocampal neurons transfected with 17Tau-GFP for 48 h showed numerous signs of degeneration, including the formation of tortuous processes (D), varicosity along the neurites (E), and the retraction of neurites (F). G-I, High-power magnification of the boxed areas in D-F. Scale bars, 20 μm.