SLC8A3 and Parkinson disease: These findings led us to hypothesize that the reduction in NCX3 protein expression might be associated with an impairment of its activity, which consequently might lead to mitochondrial depolarization in neurons and not in astrocytes obtained from A53T-α-syn midbrain, thus suggesting NCX3-induced mitochondrial depolarization as a potential molecular mechanism leading to dopaminergic neuronal demise observed in PD.