Tau-aggregation inhibition: promising role of nanoencapsulated dietary molecules in the management of Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a cumulative form of dementia associated with memory loss, cognition impairment, and finally leading to death. AD is characterized by abnormal deposits of extracellular beta-amyloid and intracellular Tau-protein tangles throughout the brain. During pathological conditions of AD, Tau protein undergoes various modifications and aggregates over time. A number of clinical trials on patients with AD symptoms have indicated the effectiveness of Tau-based therapies over anti-Aβ treatments. Thus, there is a huge paradigm shift toward Tau aggregation inhibitors. Several bioactives of plants and microbes have been suggested to cross the neuronal cell membrane and play a crucial role in managing neurodegenerative disorders. Bioactives mainly act as active modulators of AD pathology besides having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Studies also demonstrated the potential role of dietary molecules in inhibiting the formation of Tau aggregates and removing toxic Tau. Further, these molecules in nonencapsulated form exert enhanced Tau aggregation inhibition activity both in in vitro and in vivo studies suggesting a remarkable role of nanoencapsulation in AD management. The present article aims to review and discuss the structure-function relationship of Tau protein, the post-translational modifications that aid Tau aggregation and potential bioactives that inhibit Tau aggregation.

Keywords:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• blood-brain barrier
• dietary molecules
• nanomolecules
• nanotechnology
• tau protein aggregates

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge all the investigators, researchers and their funding sources for their extensive research contributions in the field of dietary molecules, nanotechnology and their potential role in Alzheimer’s disease. We thank Dr. Gopinath M for the diligent proof reading of the manuscript.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding

The authors also thank the financial assistance provided by the institute CSIR CFTRI and DST-SERB (EEQ/2020/000251).