The activity of Cdk5-p35 is tightly regulated in the developing and mature nervous system. Stress-induced cleavage of the activator p35 to p25 and a p10 N-terminal domain induces deregulated Cdk5 hyperactivity and perikaryal aggregations of hyperphosphorylated Tau and neurofilaments, pathogenic hallmarks in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, respectively. Previously, we identified a 125-residue truncated fragment of p35 called CIP that effectively and specifically inhibited Cdk5-p25 activity and Tau hyperphosphorylation induced by A peptides in vitro, in HEK293 cells, and in neuronal cells. Although these results offer a possible therapeutic approach to those neurodegenerative diseases assumed to derive from Cdk5-p25 hyperactivity and/or A induced pathology, CIP is too large for successful therapeutic regimens. To identify a smaller, more effective peptide, in this study we prepared a 24-residue peptide, p5, spanning CIP residues Lys 245 -Ala 277 . p5 more effectively inhibited Cdk5-p25 activity than did CIP in vitro. In neuron cells, p5 inhibited deregulated Cdk5-p25 activity but had no effect on the activity of endogenous Cdk5-p35 or on any related endogenous cyclin-dependent kinases in HEK293 cells. Specificity of p5 inhibition in cortical neurons may depend on the p10 domain in p35, which is absent in p25. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that p5 reduced A(1-42)-induced Tau hyperphosphorylation and apoptosis in cortical neurons. These results suggest that p5 peptide may be a unique and useful candidate for therapeutic studies of certain neurodegenerative diseases.The activity of Cdk5, a multifunctional serine/threonine kinase, is critical for neuronal development and synaptic activity; it sustains neurite outgrowth, neuronal migration, cortical lamination, and survival (1-9). Its activity depends on the binding of its neuron-specific, cyclin-related activators, p35 and p39 (10, 11). Cdk5 has also been implicated as a key player in learning and memory (12-15).Normally, Cdk5 activity is tightly regulated, but under conditions of neuronal stress, it is deregulated, leading to hyperactivity, neuronal pathology, and cell death. Accordingly, Cdk5 has been implicated in certain neurodegenerative disorders, such as AD.2 A model of the role of Cdk5 in neurodegeneration suggests that a stress-induced influx of calcium ions into neurons activates calpain, a Ca 2ϩ -activated protease, which cleaves p35 into p25 and a p10 fragment. p25, in turn, forms a more stable Cdk5-p25 hyperactive complex, which hyperphosphorylates Tau and induces cell death (16 -21). Indeed, increased levels of p25 and Cdk5 activity have been reported in AD brains. The finding that p25 may be toxic comes from studies of cortical neurons treated with -amyloid (A), a key marker of AD pathology, where p35 is converted to p25 accompanied by activated Cdk5, Tau hyperphosphorylation, and apoptosis (22,23).Expression of the Cdk5-p25 complex seems to be primarily responsible for the Tau pathology ...