Unlocking tau heterogeneity through post-translational modification biomarkers in plasma
Developing next-generation plasma assays to measure diverse tau post-translational modifications across Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies.
The problem
What's the challenge, and why is it so hard to solve?
Tau pathology plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease and many other neurodegenerative disorders, yet tau exists in numerous molecular forms that reflect different biological and disease processes. Current blood-based p-tau biomarkers have greatly improved the detection of Alzheimer's pathology but capture only a small fraction of tau's biological diversity. New assays are needed to measure additional disease-relevant tau modifications that may improve our understanding of disease heterogeneity, clinical progression, and non-Alzheimer tauopathies.
Our approach
How are we tackling the challenge?
We are developing a new generation of ultrasensitive plasma assays targeting diverse tau post-translational modifications (PTMs). By combining biomarker discovery, antibody engineering, assay development, and analytical validation, we try to measure previously inaccessible tau species in blood. In parallel, we aim to develop assays in a way that they are cost-effective, scalable, and accessible for large research studies and future clinical applications.
Why it matters
What difference could this make for patients and society?
A more comprehensive view of tau biology has the potential to improve how we detect, monitor, and understand neurodegenerative diseases.
Novel plasma tau PTM biomarkers may:
- Improve characterization of biological heterogeneity within Alzheimer's disease
- Provide complementary information beyond existing amyloid-associated biomarkers
- Better reflect disease stage, severity, and progression
- Distinguish Alzheimer's disease from other tauopathies and neurodegenerative disorders
- Support participant selection and therapeutic monitoring in clinical trials
- Enable broader access through affordable and scalable blood-based testing
Ultimately, these biomarkers could help move the field from simply detecting pathology to understanding the specific biological processes driving disease in individual patients.
What's next
Once we've solved this, what do we want to explore next?
Our ongoing work focuses on identifying and validating novel plasma tau PTM biomarkers across diverse research cohorts spanning Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Future studies will evaluate the diagnostic, prognostic, and disease-monitoring utility of these biomarkers and determine how they complement existing markers such as p-tau217.
Key publications
Where can I read more?
Team
Who's working on this?