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Mutations in PTEN‐induced kinase 1 (PINK1) lead to early onset autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease in humans. In healthy neurons, full‐length PINK1 (fPINK1) is post‐translationally cleaved into different lower molecular weight forms, and cleaved PINK1 (cPINK1) gets shuttled to the cytosolic compartments to support extra‐mitochondrial functions. While numerous studies have exemplified the role of mitochondrially localized PINK1 in modulating mitophagy in oxidatively stressed neurons, little is known regarding the physiological role of cPINK1 in healthy neurons. We have previously shown that cPINK1, but not fPINK1, modulates the neurite outgrowth and the maintenance of dendritic arbors by activating downstream protein kinase A (PKA) signaling in healthy neurons. However, the molecular mechanisms by which cPINK1 promotes neurite outgrowth remain to be elucidated. In this report, we show that cPINK1 supports neuronal development by modulating the expression and extracellular release of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Consistent with this role, we observed a progressive increase in the level of endogenous cPINK1 but not fPINK1 during prenatal and postnatal development of mouse brains and during development in primary cortical neurons. In cultured primary neurons, the pharmacological activation of endogenous PINK1 leads to enhanced downstream PKA activity, subsequent activation of the PKA‐modulated transcription factor cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB), increased intracellular production and extracellular release of BDNF, and enhanced activation of the BDNF receptor‐TRKβ. Mechanistically, cPINK1‐mediated increased dendrite complexity requires the binding of extracellular BDNF to TRKβ. In summary, our data support a physiological role of cPINK1 in stimulating neuronal development by activating the PKA‐CREB‐BDNF signaling axis in a feedforward loop.

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