title: PLK2 modulates α-synuclein aggregation in yeast and mammalian cells.
abstract: Phosphorylation of α-synuclein (aSyn) on serine 129 is one of the major post-translation modifications found in Lewy bodies, the typical pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Here, we found that both PLK2 and PLK3 phosphorylate aSyn on serine 129 in yeast. However, only PLK2 increased aSyn cytotoxicity and the percentage of cells presenting cytoplasmic foci. Consistently, in mammalian cells, PLK2 induced aSyn phosphorylation on serine 129 and induced an increase in the size of the inclusions. Our study supports a role for PLK2 in the generation of aSyn inclusions by a mechanism that does not depend directly on serine 129 phosphorylation.
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Neuroscience Unit, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Antas
authors.forename: Zrinka
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Marijanovic
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tenreiro
authors.forename: Tiago Fleming
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Outeiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D010768:Phosphoserine / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D000097868:Polo-like Kinases
chemical_list: D010768:Phosphoserine; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; C486256:PLK3 protein, human; D000097868:Polo-like Kinases; C496126:PLK2 protein, human