The role of the LRRK2 gene in Parkinsonism

Mol Neurodegener. 2014 Nov 12:9:47. doi: 10.1186/1750-1326-9-47.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD), like many common age-related conditions, has been recognized to have a substantial genetic component. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a crucial factor to understanding the etiology of PD. LRRK2 is a large, widely expressed, multi-domain and multifunctional protein. LRRK2 mutations are the major cause to inherited and sporadic PD. In this review, we discuss the pathology and clinical features which show diversity and variability of LRRK2-associated PD. In addition, we do a thorough literature review and provide theoretical data for gene counseling. Further, we present the evidence linking LRRK2 to various possible pathogenic mechanism of PD such as α-synuclein, tau, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, synaptic dysfunction as well as autophagy-lysosomal system. Based on the above work, we investigate activities both within GTPase and outside enzymatic regions in order to obtain a potential therapeutic approach to solve the LRRK2 problem.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Humans
  • Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2
  • Parkinsonian Disorders / genetics*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics*

Substances

  • LRRK2 protein, human
  • Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases