Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41916975›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

A pathogenic Tau mutation drives autophagy-lysosome dysfunction that limits Tau degradation in a model of frontotemporal dementia.

Farzaneh S Mirfakhar, Jacob A Marsh, Chihiro Sato, Kylie J Schache, Miguel A Minaya, Roland E Dolle, Stephen C Pak, Gary A Silverman, David H Perlmutter, Shannon L Macauley and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Frontotemporal dementia associated CHCHD10Cell death & disease · 2026
    Article
  3. Integrative genomic and functional analyses reveal NINL as a modulator of tau aggregation.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Farzaneh S MirfakharDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Jacob A MarshDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Chihiro SatoDepartment of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7639-8727
Kylie J SchacheDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9984-0717
Miguel A MinayaDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2573-6087
Roland E DolleDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5574-6019
Stephen C PakDepartment of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8089-3237
Gary A SilvermanDepartment of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2686-2843
David H PerlmutterDepartment of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Shannon L MacauleyDepartments of Physiology and Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4292-2703
Celeste M KarchDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. karchc@wustl.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-6854-5547

Funding

Research Education ComponentP30AG066444 · NIA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI Susan Lynn Stark · 2020 to 2026
$28.7M
University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Research CenterP30AG072946 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · PI LINDA J VAN ELDIK · 2021 to 2026
$23.5M
Tau Metabolism in FTD: From Gene Mutations to Molecular Chaperones and Lysosomal ProteasesU54NS123985 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI KARCH, CELESTE MARIE · 2021 to 2025
$9.0M
iPSC Modeling of AD Using ProgerinR01AG056293 · NIA · REGENERATIVE RESEARCH FOUNDATION · PI TEMPLE, SALLY · 2017 to 2021
$2.5M
Zeiss LSM 980 Airyscan 2 Microscope for Shared Mental Health ResearchS10MH126964 · NIMH · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI PISTON, DAVID W · 2021 to 2021
$600k
NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066444NIA NIH HHS P30 AG072946NIA NIH HHS R01 AG056293NIMH NIH HHS S10 MH126964NINDS NIH HHS U54 NS123985U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) NS110890U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute on Aging (U.S. National Institute on Aging) AG056293U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute on Aging (U.S. National Institute on Aging) AG066444
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tau accumulates in a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. A prevailing hypothesis has been that Tau degradation is impaired due to an age-related imbalance in the autophagy-lysosome pathway, but whether these defects are a cause or consequence of Tau accumulation remains unclear. Here we show that a disease-causing mutation in the MAPT gene, which encodes Tau, p.R406W, is sufficient to disrupt multiple steps of the autophagy-lysosome pathway in human neurons. Using Airyscan super-resolution imaging, we find that mutant Tau neurons accumulate Tau and phosphorylated Tau in dysfunctional lysosomes, exhibit reduced lysosome motility, impaired fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes, and increased undegraded cellular cargo. Pharmacological enhancement of autophagy improves cargo clearance and lowers Tau levels, without restoring defects in lysosomal motility. Together, these findings demonstrate that mutant Tau directly perturbs cellular clearance pathways and suggest that boosting autophagy may help restore Tau homeostasis in tauopathies.

Indexed as

AutophagyFrontotemporal DementiaLysosomestau ProteinsAutophagosomesHumansMutationNeuronsPhosphorylationProteolysisMAPT protein, humantau Proteins

Identifiers

PMID41916975
PMCPMC13040016

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.