MAPT and Alzheimer disease: The AD brain is characterized by increased levels of soluble and insoluble amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ), derived from the amyloid protein precursor (APP), neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation, and also linked with a cerebrovascular pathology (Selkoe, 2002; Iadecola, 2004; Querfurth and LaFerla, 2010).