Quantification of Methylation and Phosphorylation Stoichiometry

Tauopathies including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are neurodegenerative disorders accompanied by the conversion of functional forms of the microtubule associated protein Tau into non-functional aggregates. A variety of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on Tau precede or accompany the conversion, placing them in position to modulate Tau function as well as its propensity to aggregate. Although Tau PTMs can be characterized by their sites of modification, their total stoichiometry when summed over all sites also is an important metric of their potential impact on function. Here we provide a protocol for rapidly producing recombinant Tau with enzyme-specific PTMs at high stoichiometry in vitro and demonstrate its utility in the context of hyperphosphorylation. Additionally, protocols for estimating phosphorylation and methylation stoichiometry on Tau proteins isolated from any source are presented. Together these methods support experimentation on Tau PTM function over a wide range of experimental conditions.