A novel 3D culture model of tauopathy shows promise as a screening tool for Alzheimer disease therapies

Researchers in Germany have developed a 3D model of tauopathy that recapitulates pathological processes observed in neurons of patients with tauopathies such as Alzheimer disease (AD), and could provide an efficient system to test the efficacy of therapies for these disorders.

The researchers transfected enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-fused tau protein—wild-type, single-mutated or fourfold-mutated—into SH-SY5Y cells (a human neuroblastoma cell line). Tau-transfected cells were then differentiated using spheroid-like cultures in a shaker-based system. “Using 3D instead of 2D cultures, an increased neuronal differentiation was observed that was independent of artificial differentiation enhancers,” explains Seidel.