Although tau is mainly located in the cell cytoplasm, mostly bound to tubulin, it may also be found in the nucleus of neurons. Hence, we tested whether tau might play a role in regulating the expression of certain genes by comparing gene expression in mice containing or lacking the tau protein. Our results identified a significant difference in the expression of the smarce1 gene, which codes for the BAF-57 protein, a protein involved in the repression of neuron specific genes. These data suggest a role for tau in neuron maturation.
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