Loss of TDP‐43 function accelerates tauopathy and death of vulnerable neurons by promoting caspase 3‐mediated endoproteolytic cleavage of tau

Taken together with previous results documenting that activated caspase 3-dependent cleavage of tau occurs in cases of AD and their mouse models, our findings strongly support the view that TDP-43 loss-of-function accelerates tauopathy in vulnerable neurons by promoting caspase 3-mediated endoproteolytic cleavage of tau, thereby exacerbating neuron loss in neurodegenerative disorders harboring co-pathologies of tau and TDP-43, and disclose for these human diseases a potential therapeutic target to attenuate neuron loss.