Tau, the tubulin-associated unit, was initially discovered as a protein that stabilizes tubulin assembly into microtubules (Weingarten et al. 1975) and as such is a key regulator of neuronal morphogenesis (Drubin et al., 1985) and neurite polarity (Caceres and Kosik, 1990). Through assembling and stabilizing the microtubules in the axons, Tau is a key player in the axonal transport that connects the neuron cell body with the synapses.
