The role of LRRK2 on PKA-NFκB pathway in microglia cells: implications for Parkinson’s disease

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), a gene linked to autosomal- dominantly inherited and sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a risk factor, encodes a large and complex protein with a dual enzymatic activity. LRRK2 contains several domains involved in protein-protein interactions, however, the presence of both a kinase and GTPase domain points to intracellular signaling functions (Marin, 2006). While LRRK2 has been linked to several molecular pathways important for neuronal activity (Martin et al., 2014), the observation that its expression is high in microglia has attracted the attention of different groups to understand whether LRRK2 dysfunctions in these cells may impact neuronal activity as secondary event.