Functional characterization of FTDP-17 tau gene mutations through their effects on Xenopus oocyte maturation.

tau gene mutations cause frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). Here we have used Xenopus oocyte maturation as an indicator of microtubule function. We show that wild-type four-repeat Tau protein inhibits maturation in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas three-repeat Tau has no effect.