USF researchers have developed several compounds that may be used to reduce tau safely and treat cancer. These compounds bind to heat shock protein 70, specifically the variation Hsc70. HSP70 is a highly conserved in cancer cells as a survival mechanism. HSP70 is also associated with tau homeostasis, both in tau retention and tau turnover. USF Scientist have also developed methods of treatment using these compounds to treat various cancers and taupathies. These include: glioma, neurobalstoma, sarcoma, Alzheimer's disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, fronto-temporal dementia, and Huntington's disease.
One of the Novel Compounds, YM-08, is Shown to Reduce Phosphorylated and Total Tau