title: Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 and alternative splicing in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Mutations of the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease (PD) and are associated with pleiomorphic neuropathology. We hypothesize that LRRK2 mediates its pathogenic effect through alternative splicing of neurodegeneration genes. Methods used in this study included western blotting analysis of subcellular protein fractions, exon-array analysis of RNA from cultured neuroblastoma cells transfected with LRRK2 expression vectors, and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of RNA from cultured cells and postmortem tissue. Overexpression of the LRRK2 G2019S mutant resulted in a significant (2.6-fold; P = 0.020) decrease in nuclear transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 levels. Exon-array analyses revealed that wild-type LRRK2 had a significant effect on the expression of genes with nuclear (P < 10(-22) ) and cell-cycle functions (P < 10(-15) ). We replicated changes in gene expression in 30% of selected genes by quantitative RT-PCR. Overexpression of LRRK2 resulted in the altered splicing of two genes associated with PD, with an increased inclusion of exon 10 of microtubule-associated protein tau (1.7-fold; P = 0.001) and exon 5 of the alpha-synuclein (SNCA) gene (1.6-fold; P =0.005). Moreover, overexpression of LRRK2 (G2019S) and two mutant genes associated with neurodegeneration, TARDBP (M337V) and FUS (R521H), were associated with decreased inclusion out of the dystonin (DST) 1e precursor exons in SK-N-MC cells. Altered splicing of SNCA (1.9-fold; P < 0.001) and DST genes (log(2) 2.3-fold; P = 0.005) was observed in a cohort of PD, compared with neurologically healthy, brains. This suggests that aberrant RNA metabolism is an important contributor to idiopathic PD.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Australia, Barker St., Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Woojin S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sarsha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gorissen
authors.forename: Glenda M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Halliday
authors.forename: John B J
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kwok
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D001344:Autopsy; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D018628:Gene Dosage; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D008297:Male; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C054369:MAPT protein, human; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D016875:tau Proteins; C495280:LRRK2 protein, human; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases