Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) phosphorylates p53 and induces p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression

BACKGROUND: Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a gene in which a mutation causes Parkinson’s disease (PD), and p53 is a prototype tumor suppressor. In addition, activation of p53 in patient with PD has been reported by several studies. Because phosphorylation of p53 is critical for regulating its activity and LRRK2 is a kinase, we tested whether p53 is phosphorylated by LRRK2. RESULTS: LRRK2 phosphorylates threonine (Thr) at TXR sites in an in vitro kinase assay, and the T304 and T377 were identified as putative phosphorylated residues. An increase of phospho-Thr in the p53 TXR motif was confirmed in the cells overexpressing G2019S, and human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells of a G2019S carrier. Interactions between LRRK2 and p53 were confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation of lysates of differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. LRRK2 mediated p53 phosphorylation translocalizes p53 predominantly to nucleus and increases p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression in SH-SY5Y cells based on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay results. The luciferase assay using the p21(WAF1/CIP1) promoter-reporter also confirmed that LRRK2 kinase activity increases p21 expression. Exogenous expression of G2019S and the phosphomimetic p53 T304/377D mutants increased expression of p21(WAF1/CIP1) and cleaved PARP, and cytotoxicity in the same cells. We also observed increase of p21 expression in rat primary neuron cells after transient expression of p53 T304/377D mutants and the mid-brain lysates of the G2019S transgenic mice. CONCLUSION: p53 is a LRRK2 kinase substrate. Phosphorylation of p53 by LRRK2 induces p21(WAF1/CIP1) expression and apoptosis in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells and rat primary neurons. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13041-015-0145-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.