Tau is a microtubule-associated protein involved in Alzheimer's disease. However, little is known on its physiological function in the healthy central nervous system. Here, we observed that the expression of Tau isoforms was modulated by neuronal maturation and visual experience in the mouse retina and in the visual cortex. The visual function of wild-type (WT) and Tau knockout (KO) mice was evaluated using the optokinetic reflex (OKR), an innate visuomotor behavior, and by electroretinography. Visual tests did not reveal functional impairments in young adult and old Tau KO animals. Moreover, monocular deprivation (MD) was used to increase OKR sensitivity, a plasticity phenomenon depending on the visual cortex. MD-induced OKR sensitivity enhancement was significantly stronger in Tau KO than in WT mice suggesting that Tau restricts visual plasticity. In addition, human Tau expression did not affect visual function and plasticity in a mouse tauopathy model, relative to WT controls. Our results unveil a novel function for Tau in the adaptive mechanisms of plasticity operating in the adult brain subjected to sensory experience changes.

中文翻译：

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Tau 调节成年和老年小鼠的视觉可塑性

Tau 是一种与阿尔茨海默病有关的微管相关蛋白。然而，对其在健康中枢神经系统中的生理功能知之甚少。在这里，我们观察到 Tau 异构体的表达受到小鼠视网膜和视觉皮层中神经元成熟和视觉体验的调节。使用视动反射 (OKR)、先天视觉运动行为和视网膜电图评估野生型 (WT) 和 Tau 敲除 (KO) 小鼠的视觉功能。视觉测试未显示年轻成人和老年 Tau KO 动物的功能障碍。此外，单眼剥夺 (MD) 用于增加 OKR 敏感性，这是一种取决于视觉皮层的可塑性现象。MD 诱导的 OKR 敏感性增强在 Tau KO 中明显强于 WT 小鼠，表明 Tau 限制了视觉可塑性。此外，相对于 WT 对照，人类 Tau 表达不影响小鼠 tau 蛋白病模型中的视觉功能和可塑性。我们的研究结果揭示了 Tau 在成人大脑中经历感官体验变化的可塑性适应性机制中的新功能。