Extracellular vesicles: Major actors of heterogeneity in tau spreading among human tauopathies

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by tau inclusions in brain cells. Seed-competent tau species have been suggested to spread from cell to cell in a stereotypical manner, indicating that this may involve a prion-like mechanism. Although the intercellular mechanisms of transfer are unclear, extracellular vesicles (EVs) could be potential shuttles. We assessed this in humans by preparing vesicles from fluids (brain-derived enriched EVs [BD-EVs]). These latter were isolated from different brain regions in various tauopathies, and their seeding potential was assessed in vitro and in vivo. We observed considerable heterogeneity among tauopathies and brain regions. The most striking evidence was coming mainly from Alzheimer’s disease where the BD-EVs clearly contain pathological species that can induce tau lesions in vivo. The results support the hypothesis that BD-EVs participate in the prion-like propagation of tau pathology among tauopathies, and there may be implications for diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.