Proline-directed pseudo-phosphorylation at AT8 and PHF1 epitopes induces a compaction of the paperclip folding of Tau and generates a pathological (MC-1) conformation.

Tau, a neuronal microtubule-associated protein that aggregates in Alzheimer disease is a natively unfolded protein. In solution, Tau adopts a "paperclip" conformation, whereby the N- and C-terminal domains approach each other and the repeat domain ( Jeganathan, S., von Bergen, M., Brutlach, H., Steinhoff, H. J., and Mandelkow, E. (2006) Biochemistry 45, 2283-2293 ). In AD, Tau is in a hyperphosphorylated state. The consequences for microtubule binding or aggregation are a matter of debate. We therefore tested whether phosphorylation alters the conformation of Tau. To avoid the ambiguities of heterogeneous phosphorylation we cloned "pseudo-phosphorylation" mutants of Tau where combinations of Ser or Thr residues were converted into Glu. These mutations were combined with FRET pairs inserted in different locations to allow distance measurements. The results show that the paperclip conformation becomes tighter or looser, depending on the pseudo-phosphorylation state. In particular, pseudo-phosphorylation at the epitope of the diagnostic antibody AT8* (S199E + S202E + T205E) moves the N-terminal domain away from the C-terminal domain. Pseudo-phosphorylation at the PHF1 epitope (S396E + S404E) moves the C-terminal domain away from the repeat domain. In both cases the paperclip conformation is opened up. By contrast, the combination of AT8* and PHF1 sites leads to compaction of the paperclip, such that the N-terminus approaches the repeat domain. The compaction becomes even stronger by combining pseudo-phosphorylated AT8*, AT100, and PHF1 epitopes. This is accompanied by a strong increase in the reaction with conformation-dependent antibody MC1, suggesting the generation of a pathological conformation characteristic for Tau in AD. Furthermore, the compact paperclip conformation enhances the aggregation to paired helical filaments but has little influence on microtubule interactions. The data provide a framework for the global folding of Tau dependent on proline-directed phosphorylation in the domains flanking the repeats and the consequences for pathological properties of Tau.