Based on this finding, the prospective aim was to use tau in two types of studies: (a) to test comparatively the functional state of its epitopes in monomer tau of DPSCs and in NFTs of the AD brain samples and (b) to test the propensity of the protein sites in which these epitopes are located to undergo initial steps of aggregation toward NFTs under the influence of currently known in vitro inducers of tau phosphorylation aggregation to model the formation of NFT, such as okadaic acid (79, 80) and inhibitors of these processes as drug candidates against neurodegeneration (81). The gene discussed is MAPT; the disease is Alzheimer disease.