Researchers first identified MTBR-tau243 as a promising signal of Alzheimer’s-related tau tangles in cerebrospinal fluid—not as a ready-to-use blood test. A 2025 study later reported a related form in plasma, advancing the blood-test research, but the studies covered here do not establish that a consumer test is currently available or used routinely in clinical care.
What is MTBR-tau243?
MTBR-tau243 is a fragment of tau, a protein that can form aggregates, or tangles, in the brain. The name refers to a tau species containing residue 243 within tau’s microtubule-binding region. Researchers are studying it as a biomarker—a measurable biological signal—of tau-tangle pathology associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The finding does not mean the fragment itself causes the disease. The 2023 study in Nature Medicine examined whether measuring this fragment could help track tau pathology.
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What did the 2023 study find?
The 2023 study measured MTBR-tau243 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It included two independent research cohorts: 448 people in Sweden’s BioFINDER-2 study and 219 people in the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center cohort. Researchers compared the biomarker with other CSF phosphorylated-tau measures, amyloid-PET, tau-PET and cognitive measures.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Among the CSF measures compared, MTBR-tau243 was most strongly associated with tau-PET and cognition, and least associated with amyloid-PET. That pattern suggests it may reflect tau-tangle burden more directly than some other measures in these analyses. It is an association in research cohorts, not proof that the marker can diagnose Alzheimer’s in an individual.
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What the reported numbers mean
When the researchers combined MTBR-tau243 with p-tau205, the combination explained 58%–75% of the variance in tau-PET burden (R² 0.58–0.75) and 34%–48% of the variance in cognitive measures (R² 0.34–0.48) in their analyses. These are results from the studied cohorts. They are not blood-test accuracy, sensitivity or specificity figures, and should not be read as the chance that a person has Alzheimer’s.
How has blood-test research progressed?
The original study used an immunoprecipitation and mass-spectrometry method to measure the fragment in CSF; it did not demonstrate a consumer-ready blood test. In 2025, a separate Nature Medicine paper reported a plasma form called endogenously cleaved MTBR-tau243 (eMTBR-tau243). The researchers reported that it was more strongly associated with, and more specific to, tau-tangle pathology than the other established plasma biomarkers they compared, including percentage p-tau217. The 2025 paper therefore marks progress in blood-based research, not confirmation of a test routinely available to patients.
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Can a blood test detect Alzheimer’s disease now?
The studies described here do not establish that an MTBR-tau243 blood test is currently available to consumers or routinely used in clinical care. They also do not establish its regulatory or commercial status across different countries. The 2023 findings concern CSF; the 2025 findings concern a plasma biomarker studied by researchers. Neither paper, on its own, verifies a marketed diagnostic product or settles how clinicians should use the marker.
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A biomarker’s relationship to tau-PET or cognition is not the same as a validated diagnostic result for an individual. The 2023 authors noted the importance of further validation, and PET measurements are themselves surrogate measures of pathology. Until clinical performance and use are established, MTBR-tau243 is best understood as a promising research biomarker rather than a stand-alone answer about someone’s diagnosis.
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Why would a blood-based tau marker matter?
Tau-PET can help researchers assess tau pathology, but it is expensive and burdensome. Alzheimer’s researcher John Hardy told Chemistry World on 21 July 2023 that “a blood test for tangles would be really appealing.” That comment describes the potential value of a future test; it is not evidence that one was available then.
If validated for clinical use, a blood marker that reflects tau tangles could offer a less burdensome way to study or assess pathology than imaging. The 2023 authors also suggested possible applications in interventional trials and diagnosis, and proposed considering MTBR-tau243 as a marker of insoluble tau aggregates in the A/T/(N) research framework. These are research implications, not evidence of regulatory approval or routine clinical adoption.
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