Open a bounty challenge Fund this gap and accept submissions. SPEC-033.
Composite
71%
Novelty
72%
Mechanistic
Druggability
Priority
95%
Importance
92%
Tractability
78%
Market price
50%

Description

Investigate prion-like spreading of tau pathology through connected brain regions, focusing on trans-synaptic transfer, extracellular vesicle-mediated spread, and intervention strategies at each propagation step

Resolution criteria

Resolved when: at least two independent experimental or human-network studies distinguish tau trans-synaptic transfer, extracellular-vesicle spread, and other propagation routes, identify intervention points with measurable reduction of tau spread, and SciDEX records KG edges for route, brain region, molecular mediator, and therapeutic strategy plus a debate synthesis ranking which interception points are best supported.

Evidence summary

{“hypothesis_matches”: [{“id”: “h-d78123d1”, “title”: “Microglia-Derived Extracellular Vesicle Engineering for Targeted Mitochondrial Delivery”, “target_gene”: “RAB27A/LAMP2B”, “target_pathway”: “Extracellular vesicle biogenesis (ESCRT/Rab27a) / mitochondrial transfer”, “match_score”: 0.44, “composite_score”: 0.3681729702065991, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-var-3b982ec3d2”, “title”: “Closed-loop tACS targeting entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneurons to block tau propagation and restore perforant-path gamma gating in Alzheimer’s disease”, “target_gene”: “SST”, “target_pathway”: “Entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneuron-mediated perforant-path gamma gating and suppression of trans-synaptic tau propagation to hippocampus”, “match_score”: 0.37, “composite_score”: null, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-var-55da4f915d”, “title”: “Closed-loop transcranial focused ultrasound targeting entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneurons to restore perforant-path gamma gating and block tau propagation in Alzheimer’s disease”, “target_gene”: “SST”, “target_pathway”: “Entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneuron mechanosensitive activation via tFUS-driven PIEZO1/TREK-1 signaling, restoration of perforant-path gamma gating, and suppression of trans-synaptic tau propagation to hippocampus”, “match_score”: 0.37, “composite_score”: null, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-a87702b6”, “title”: “Cholesterol-CRISPR Convergence Therapy for Neurodegeneration”, “target_gene”: “HMGCR, LDLR, APOE regulatory regions”, “target_pathway”: “Brain cholesterol homeostasis (HMGCR synthesis \u2192 CYP46A1 elimination)”, “match_score”: 0.3, “composite_score”: 0.5150203412333288, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-29ef94d5”, “title”: “Epigenetic Memory Reprogramming for Alzheimer’s Disease”, “target_gene”: “BDNF, CREB1, synaptic plasticity genes”, “target_pathway”: “CREB/BDNF epigenetic regulation of synaptic plasticity”, “match_score”: 0.3, “composite_score”: 0.49103059326293774, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-var-d98a992599”, “title”: “Closed-loop tACS targeting entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneurons to activate AMPK-autophagy flux and degrade intracellular tau before exosomal packaging in Alzheimer’s disease”, “target_gene”: “SST”, “target_pathway”: “Entorhinal cortex layer II SST interneuron-driven GABAergic hyperpolarization activating AMPK-ULK1-beclin-1 autophagy flux to degrade tau oligomers before exosomal trans-synaptic propagation to hippocampus”, “match_score”: 0.3, “composite_score”: null, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-55ef81c5”, “title”: “Extracellular Vesicle Biogenesis Modulation”, “target_gene”: “CHMP4B”, “target_pathway”: “Endosomal sorting / vesicle trafficking”, “match_score”: 0.24, “composite_score”: 0.33763444673319054, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-fdaae8d9”, “title”: “Trans-Synaptic Adhesion Molecule Modulation”, “target_gene”: “NLGN1”, “target_pathway”: “Synaptic function / plasticity”, “match_score”: 0.24, “composite_score”: 0.33763444613187854, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-74777459”, “title”: “Microbial Metabolite-Mediated \u03b1-Synuclein Disaggregation”, “target_gene”: “SNCA, HSPA1A, DNMT1”, “target_pathway”: “Alpha-synuclein aggregation / synaptic vesicle”, “match_score”: 0.2, “composite_score”: 0.5361012059993376, “status”: “proposed”}, {“id”: “h-3a4f2027”, “title”: “Trinucleotide Repeat Sequestration via CRISPR-Guided RNA Targeting”, “target_gene”: “HTT, DMPK, repeat-containing transcripts”, “target_pathway”: “CRISPR-Cas13 RNA targeting / trinucleotide repeat expansion”, “match_score”: 0.2, “composite_score”: 0.515020341233329, “status”: “proposed”}], “total_matching_hypotheses”: 12, “gap_tokens_sample”: [“brain”, “connected”, “extracellular”, “focusing”, “interception”, “intervention”, “investigate”, “pathology”, “points”, “prion”, “prion-like”, “propagation”, “regions”, “spread”, “spreading”], “updated_at”: “2026-04-06T08:21:05.782180+00:00”}