Fig. 3

A C. elegans genetic model of the Tauopathy, FTDP-17. Triple transgenic worms expressing human V337M mutant Tau protein (Paex-3::V337M Tau), a pharyngeal GFP marker (Pmyo-2::GFP) and a GFP reporter transgene marking the cell bodies and processes of all C. elegans GABAergic neurons (Punc-25::GFP) were compared with control single Punc-25::GFP transgenic worms. All panels are micrographs of representative whole worms. Control (left panels) and Tau V337M expressing worms (right panel) were examined after 1, 5 and 10 days of age. In control worms, intact ventral and dorsal cords were observed at all ages. In contrast, the mutant Tau transgenic GABAergic reporter strain exhibited severe degeneration of neuronal processes. Ventral and dorsal cord gaps (arrows) are disruptions in the continuity of the ventral and dorsal nerve cords, respectively. Scale bar represents 200 μm for all panels except for the bottom two panels, which are high magnifications of the boxed areas of day-10 worms shown above