The effects of Rhes, a striatal specific protein, on the expression of behavioral and neuropathological symptoms in a transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease

<p>Huntington's disease (HD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by choreiform movement of the limbs, cognitive disability, psychosis and dementia. It is untreatable, incurable, and ultimately fatal. HD is invariably associated with an abnormally long CAG expansion within the IT15 gene on human chromosome 4. Although the mutant huntingtin protein (mHtt) is ubiquitously expressed in HD patients, cellular degeneration occurs only in neurons within the striatum and cerebral cortex. The Ras homolog Rhes is expressed very selectively in the precise brain areas affected by HD. Recent work using cultured cells suggests that Rhes may be a co-factor with mHtt in cell death. However, there is controversy as to whether cell death underlies the symptoms of HD. We used a validated transgenic mouse model of HD crossed with Rhes knockout mice to show that the behavioral symptoms of HD are regulated by Rhes. HD/Rhes^-/- mice showed greatly delayed expression of HD-like symptoms in this <em>in vivo</em> model. Drugs that block or inhibit the actions of Rhes may be useful as the first treatments for HD.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Baiamonte, Brandon A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gerald LaHoste
• Kevin Greve
• Michelle Martel

• Huntington's disease
• Rhes
• sumoylation
• motor deficits
• Biological Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1424

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2450