Tau is required for pneumonia‐induced cerebrovascular dysfunction

Tau is required for bacterial pneumonia-induced BBB breakdown and gliosis, revealing a novel immune role for this pathological hallmark of ADRD. Future studies should focus on 1) mechanism(s) by which pneumonia-induced tau causes neurovascular unit dysfunction, 2) whether cytotoxic tau produced by the lungs during infection contributes to ADRD, 3) how the tau generated in pneumonia compares to ADRD tau variants and phosphorylation states, and 4) the applicability and benefit of therapeutics targeting tau, such as anti-tau antibodies, on incident dementia associated with pneumonia and/or on cerebrovascular dysfunction in mild-cognitive impairment and ADRD.