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Medical Definition of Tau proteins
1. One of the two major classes of microtubule-associated proteins isolated from the brain. The proteins have two domains: one that binds to microtubules and a second that binds to other cell components. By binding to several unpolymerised tubulin molecules simultaneously, tau proteins speed up the nucleation process in tubulin polymerization. Chemically modified tau proteins also appear to be involved in the formation and/or composition of the neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads found in alzheimer disease. (12 Dec 1998)