Figure 12

BBB breakdown correlates best with perivascular tau levels. Representative schematic depicting the timeline of progressive pathologies found in rTg4510 mice including tau accumulation, neuronal loss, tau tangle deposition, inflammation, appearance of perivascular tau, and initiation of increased BBB permeability. Tau accumulation begins at a very young age, before one month, followed by regional neuronal loss. A few months after tau tangles start to deposit just after signs of inflammation are noticeable. Neuron loss continues to get more severe with age and by 9 months vascular tau is detectable in the hippocampus, concomitant with the start of increased BBB permeability.