MAPT

microtubule associated protein tau

7 disorders 3 untyped 2 risk factor 1 no genetic record 1 susceptibility 17q21.31 gene with protein product

HGNC:6893 Monarch NCBI Gene 4137 ENSG00000186868 UniProt P10636 OMIM 157140

Previous symbols: DDPAC, MAPTL. Aliases: MTBT1, tau, PPND, FTDP-17, TAU, MSTD, MTBT2, FLJ31424, MGC138549, PPP1R103, tau-40, Tau-PHF6.

Normal function · from ai-gene-review (P10636, commit 79fe13b38970) · AI-generated, not KB evidence

MAPT encodes microtubule-associated protein tau, a neuronally enriched, intrinsically disordered microtubule-associated protein. Tau binds tubulin and microtubules through repeat domains, promotes microtubule assembly and stability, and contributes to axonal microtubule organization, axonal transport, neurite/axon development, and neuronal polarity. Tau also associates with neural plasma-membrane and axonal cortex components, and disease-associated phosphorylation or acetylation can alter microtubule and membrane binding. In Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies, modified tau mislocalizes and self-assembles into paired-helical-filament/neurofibrillary-tangle pathology with downstream synaptic, mitochondrial, glial, secretion, and stress-response consequences.

Neuronal microtubule-associated protein activity: tau binds tubulin and microtubules, stabilizes microtubules, promotes microtubule assembly, supports axonal microtubule organization, axonal transport, neurite/axon development, and links axonal microtubules to neural membrane-cortex components.

molecular function: microtubule stabilizing activity · directly involved in: microtubule cytoskeleton organization; positive regulation of microtubule polymerization; neuron projection development; axonal transport · locations: microtubule cytoskeleton; axon; cytosol; plasma membrane

Disease-relevant tau self-association and pathological filament/tangle assembly, in which modified tau proteins polymerize into supramolecular fibers, amyloid-like paired helical filaments, and Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles.

molecular function: identical protein binding · directly involved in: amyloid fibril formation; supramolecular fiber organization; neurofibrillary tangle assembly · locations: neurofibrillary tangle

In the knowledge base · computed from kb/ at build time

Disorders

Relationship is the entry's genetic[].relationship_type. untyped means the entry has a genetic record for the gene but does not type it; its free-text association is shown instead.

Disorder	Relationship	Where the gene appears
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex	susceptibility germline
Corticobasal Syndrome	risk factor
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy	risk factor germline	mechanism: MAPT H1 Haplotype and 4R Tau Splicing Imbalance subtype: Inherited PSP (MAPT)
Frontotemporal Dementia	untyped Mutations cause autosomal dominant FTD with tau pathology	mechanism: Tau Proteinopathy subtype: Behavioral Variant FTD
Pick Disease	untyped Germline Mutation; Risk Factor
Primary Progressive Aphasia	untyped Causative
Alzheimer Disease	no genetic record	mechanism: Intercellular Tau Transmission via Extracellular Vesicles; Neurofibrillary Tangle Formation; Tau-Induced Nucleocytoplasmic Transport Failure treatment: Tau-Directed Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy

Identity from HGNC (snapshot 2026-10-01). Page layers are described in the gene pages documentation.