AAIC 2021 | Changes in Rhes distribution associated with tau accumulation and neuronal vulnerability

Lea Grinberg, MD, PhD, Weill Institute for Neurosciences and Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, talks on the importance of Rhes in tauopathies. Immunostaining has demonstrated the typical presence of Rhes in the neuronal cytoplasm in a granular form. However, in disease cases, Rhes was found to be present in puncta or absent from the cytoplasm completely. Dr Grinberg’s team investigated the implications of these changes in Rhes distribution, demonstrating that those with altered Rhes were the neurons that went on to accumulate tau. Additionally, single nuclei RNA sequencing data showed that the neurons with highest vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease were those with the greatest change in Rhes expression. This interview took place during the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2021.