Involvement of the Protein Ras Homolog Enriched in the Striatum, Rhes, in Dopaminergic Neurons' Degeneration: Link to Parkinson's Disease.

is one of the most interesting genes regulated by thyroid hormones that, through the inhibition of the striatal cAMP/PKA pathway, acts as a modulator of dopamine neurotransmission. is expressed at high levels in the dorsal striatum, with a medial-to-lateral expression gradient reflecting that of both dopamine D and adenosine A receptors. transcript is also present in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, olfactory tubercle and bulb, substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area of the rodent brain. In line with -dependent regulation of dopaminergic transmission, data showed that lack of enhanced cocaine- and amphetamine-induced motor stimulation in mice. Previous studies showed that pharmacological depletion of dopamine significantly reduces mRNA levels in rodents, non-human primates and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, suggesting a link between dopaminergic innervation and physiological mRNA expression. Rhes protein binds to and activates striatal mTORC1, and modulates L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in PD rodent models. Finally, Rhes is involved in the survival of mouse midbrain dopaminergic neurons of SNc, thus pointing towards a Rhes-dependent modulation of autophagy and mitophagy processes, and encouraging further investigations about mechanisms underlying dysfunctions of the nigrostriatal system.