title: Possible involvement of the relationship of LRRK2 and autophagy in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: PD (Parkinson's disease) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by loss of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra. The implication of genetic factors in the aetiology of PD has an essential importance in our understanding of the development of the disease. Mutations in the LRRK2 (leucine-rich repeat kinase 2) gene cause late-onset PD with a clinical appearance indistinguishable from idiopathic PD. Moreover, LRRK2 has been associated with the process of autophagy regulation. Autophagy is an intracellular catabolic mechanism whereby a cell recycles or degrades damaged proteins and cytoplasmic organelles. In the present paper, we discuss the role of LRRK2 in autophagy, and the importance of this relationship in the development of nigral degeneration in PD.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Genética, E. Enfermería y TO, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Universidad de Extremadura, CP 10003, Cáceres, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bravo-San Pedro
authors.forename: Rubén
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gómez-Sánchez
authors.forename: Mireia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niso-Santano
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pizarro-Estrella
authors.forename: Rosa A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: González-Polo
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fuentes
mesh_terms: D001343:Autophagy; D006801:Humans; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D009154:Mutation; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C495280:LRRK2 protein, human; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases