Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of aggregated tau protein. These aggregates are thought to form because hyperphosphorylation of tau causes it to dissociate from the microtubules to which it normally binds, and the tau molecules can then bind to one another. The cyclin-dependent kinase-5 (Cdk5) is suspected to be the kinase that hyperphosphorylates tau, and a new study reveals how Cdk5 might do this.
