Statement of Work. The research proposed in this multi-PI application with three PIs (Drs. Hoang, Yue and Ubarretxena) combines the efforts of three different laboratories to study the structure and activity regulation of Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2). Mutations in this unique multi- domain enzyme have been linked with Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis, and thus LRRK2 has emerged as a key therapeutic target for the treatment of this neurodegenerative disorder. The results obtained from X-ray crystal structures of the GTPase domain and the COR region carrying PD-linked mutations (Dr. Hoang component) and those obtained from the high- resolution electron microscopy 3-D models of full-length LRRK2 (Dr. Ubarretxena component) will be used to inform the biochemical, cell-based and animal studies (Dr. Yue component). In particular, we will learn how the GTPase and kinase activities in LRRK2 are coordinated and how domain-domain interactions in the enzyme, and PD-linked mutations affect these activities.
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