Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease. LRRK2 is a large protein containing a small GTPase domain and a kinase domain, but its physiological role is unknown. To identify the normal function of LRRK2 in vivo, we generated two independent lines of germ-line deletion mice. The dopaminergic system of LRRK2 −/− mice appears normal, and numbers of dopaminergic neurons and levels of striatal dopamine are unchanged. However, LRRK2 −/− kidneys, which suffer the greatest loss of LRRK compared with other organs, develop striking accumulation and aggregation of α-synuclein and ubiquitinated proteins at 20 months of age. The autophagy-lysosomal pathway is also impaired in the absence of LRRK2, as indicated by accumulation of lipofuscin granules as well as altered levels of LC3-II and p62. Furthermore, loss of LRRK2 dramatically increases apoptotic cell death, inflammatory responses, and oxidative damage. Collectively, our findings show that LRRK2 plays an essential and unexpected role in the regulation of protein homeostasis during aging, and suggest that LRRK2 mutations may cause Parkinson's disease and cell death via impairment of protein degradation pathways, leading to α-synuclein accumulation and aggregation over time.Parkinson's disease | knockout | autophagy | ubiquitin-proteasome system | aging P arkinson's disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder. The neuropathological hallmarks of PD are progressive degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurons and the presence of intraneuronal cytoplasmic inclusions known as Lewy bodies, of which α-synuclein is a major constituent (1). Dominantly inherited mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of familial PD (2, 3), highlighting the importance of LRRK2 in PD pathogenesis; however, the normal physiological role of LRRK2 is unknown. LRRK2 is a large protein containing a Ras-like small GTPase domain and a MAPKKK-like kinase domain, and has a functional homolog LRRK1, which shares similar domain structures (4). Crystal structural and biochemical studies showed that the GTPase domain forms a dimer; the pathogenic mutations destabilize the dimer and reduce GTPase activity (5-7). A recent in vitro study suggested that LRRK2 and LRRK1 can interact with each other and form a heterodimer (8). Although no physiological substrate of the LRRK2 kinase activity has been reported, studies in cultured cells have suggested that some pathogenic mutations in LRRK2 cause increases in LRRK2 kinase activity (9, 10).Protein aggregation is thought to play a major role in neurodegeneration and PD pathogenesis (11). The strongest evidence came from studies of α-synuclein. Gene multiplication and missense mutations in α-synuclein have been identified in early-onset familial PD with dominant inheritance (12). α-Synuclein is a major constituent of Lewy bodies (1). Overexpression of either WT or mutant α-synuclein in transgenic mice causes age-related neurodegeneration (13-15). Although patients carryi...

BackgroundDominantly inherited missense mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease, but its normal physiological function remains unclear. We previously reported that loss of LRRK2 causes impairment of protein degradation pathways as well as increases of apoptotic cell death and inflammatory responses in the kidney of aged mice.ResultsOur analysis of LRRK2-/- kidneys at multiple ages, such as 1, 4, 7, and 20 months, revealed unique age-dependent development of a variety of molecular, cellular, and ultrastructural changes. Gross morphological abnormalities of the kidney, including altered size, weight, texture, and color, are evident in LRRK2-/- mice at 3-4 months of age, along with increased accumulation of autofluorescent granules in proximal renal tubules. The ratio of kidney/body weight in LRRK2-/- mice is increased at 1, 4, and 7 months of age (~10% at 1 month, and ~20% at 4 and 7 months), whereas the ratio is drastically decreased at 20 months of age (~50%). While kidney filtration function evaluated by levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine is not significantly affected in LRRK2-/- mice at 12-14 months of age, expression of kidney injury molecule-1, a sensitive and specific biomarker for epithelial cell injury of proximal renal tubules, is up-regulated (~10-fold). Surprisingly, loss of LRRK2 causes age-dependent bi-phasic alterations of the autophagic activity in LRRK2-/- kidneys, which is unchanged at 1 month of age, enhanced at 7 months but reduced at 20 months, as evidenced by corresponding changes in the levels of LC3-I/II, a reliable autophagy marker, and p62, an autophagy substrate. Levels of α-synuclein and protein carbonyls, a general oxidative damage marker, are also decreased in LRRK2-/- kidneys at 7 months of age but increased at 20 months. Interestingly, the age-dependent bi-phasic alterations in autophagic activity in LRRK2-/- kidneys is accompanied by increased levels of lysosomal proteins and proteases at 1, 7, and 20 months of age as well as progressive accumulation of autolysosomes and lipofuscin granules at 4, 7-10, and 20 months of age.ConclusionsLRRK2 is important for the dynamic regulation of autophagy function in vivo.

Mutations of the ubiquitin ligase parkin account for most autosomal recessive forms of juvenile Parkinson's disease (AR-JP). Several studies have suggested that parkin possesses DNA-binding and transcriptional activity. We report here that parkin is a p53 transcriptional repressor. First, parkin prevented 6-hydroxydopamine-induced caspase-3 activation in a p53-dependent manner. Concomitantly, parkin reduced p53 expression and activity, an effect abrogated by familial parkin mutations known to either abolish or preserve its ligase activity. ChIP experiments indicate that overexpressed and endogenous parkin interact physically with the p53 promoter and that pathogenic mutations abolish DNA binding to and promoter transactivation of p53. Parkin lowered p53 mRNA levels and repressed p53 promoter transactivation through its Ring1 domain. Conversely, parkin depletion enhanced p53 expression and mRNA levels in fibroblasts and mouse brains, and increased cellular p53 activity and promoter transactivation in cells. Finally, familial parkin missense and