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Caspase-Cleaved Tau Co-Localizes With Early Tangle Markers In The Human Vascular Dementia Brain, Ryan J. Day, Maria J. Mason, Chloe Thomas, Wayne W. Poon, Troy T. Rohn

Troy T. Rohn

Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second most common form of dementia in the United States and is characterized as a cerebral vessel vascular disease that leads to ischemic episodes. Whereas the relationship between caspase-cleaved tau and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been previously described, whether caspase activation and cleavage of tau occurs in VaD is presently unknown. To investigate a potential role for caspase-cleaved tau in VaD, we analyzed seven confirmed cases of VaD by immunohistochemistry utilizing a well-characterized antibody that specifically detects caspase-cleaved tau truncated at Asp⁴²¹. Application of this antibody (TauC3) revealed consistent …