The role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans for tau pathology in vivo

Our findings suggest that NDST1 is a potentially druggable target, and that the HSPG pathway plays a role for tau uptake in multiple cell types. We worked with GemPharmatech for the generation of a floxed NDST1 mouse line. We plan to breed the floxed NDST1 mice to PS19 mice and selected neuronal, astrocytic and microglial Cre driver lines. We anticipate that knockout of NDST1 in vivo will reduce tau spread in mouse brain. If successful, our study will inspire multiple lines of follow up work such as the design of enzymatic inhibitors and genetic silencing tools.