Hepta-Histidine Inhibits Tau Aggregation

Abstract

Tau aggregation is a central hallmark of tauopathies such as frontotemporal lobar degeneration and progressive supranuclear palsy as well as of Alzheimer's disease, and it has been a target for therapeutic development. Herein, we unexpectedly found that hepta-histidine (7H), an inhibitor of the interaction between Ku70 and Huntingtin proteins, suppresses aggregation of Tau-R3 peptides in vitro. Addition of the trans-activator of transcription (TAT) sequence (YGRKKRRQRRR) derived from the TAT protein to 7H increased its permeability into cells, and TAT-7H treatment of iPS cell-derived neurons carrying Tau or APP mutations suppressed Tau phosphorylation. These results indicate that 7H is a promising lead compound for developing anti-aggregation drugs against Tau-related neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Keywords: Hepta-histidine; TAT; aggregation; neurodegenerative diseases; tau.