Our work focuses on the cellular and molecular consequences of tau pathology in neuronal cultures. Our primary model is derived from the dorsal root ganglia of mice transgenic for P301S mutant human tau. These ganglia are dissociated and grown in culture to allow us to visualise and study the development of advanced tau pathology ex vivo. One of the main advantages of this model is that unlike cortical or hippocampal primary cultures, these peripheral sensory neurons can be cultured for months rather than weeks. Apart from their obvious use as drug screening platforms, dorsal root ganglion neurons possess unique properties that allow us to ask interesting questions regarding the role of pathological tau in axon regeneration, organelle function, cell signalling, electrophysiology and cell death.
