Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of Parkinson's disease (PD). LRRK2 contains a Ras of complex proteins (ROC) domain that may act as a GTPase to regulate its protein kinase activity. The structure of ROC and the mechanism(s) by which it regulates kinase activity are not known. Here, we report the crystal structure of the LRRK2 ROC domain in complex with GDP-Mg 2؉ at 2.0-Å resolution. The structure displays a dimeric fold generated by extensive domain-swapping, resulting in a pair of active sites constructed with essential functional groups contributed from both monomers. Two PD-associated pathogenic residues, R1441 and I1371, are located at the interface of two monomers and provide exquisite interactions to stabilize the ROC dimer. The structure demonstrates that loss of stabilizing forces in the ROC dimer is likely related to decreased GTPase activity resulting from mutations at these sites. Our data suggest that the ROC domain may regulate LRRK2 kinase activity as a dimer, possibly via the C-terminal of ROC (COR) domain as a molecular hinge. The structure of the LRRK2 ROC domain also represents a signature from a previously undescribed class of GTPases from complex proteins and results may provide a unique molecular target for therapeutics in PD. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common, age-related neurodegenerative disorder for which only symptomatic treatment is available. The etiology of PD is poorly understood, but over the past decade it has become clear that there are rare families with Mendelian inheritance (1). Of the genes that cause PD, dominantly inherited mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are numerically the most common and account for an appreciable fraction of apparently sporadic PD (reviewed in ref.2). LRRK2 encodes a large (2,527-aa) multidomain protein originally identified as a unique kinase with leucine-rich repeats. LRRK2 is a member of a superfamily of proteins, named ROCO, that includes at least three other human proteins: leucine-rich repeat kinase 1 (LRRK1), death-associated protein kinase (DAPK1), and malignant fibrous histiocytoma-amplified sequences with leucine-rich tandem repeat-1 (MASL1) (3). A unique feature of all ROCO proteins is a 200-to 250-aa Ras-related GTPase or Ras of complex proteins (ROC) domain, followed by a C-terminal of ROC (COR) domain immediately before the kinase domain.Both LRRK2 and LRRK1 have been shown to be active protein kinases in vitro (4-7), and some mutations are found in the kinase domain. These mutations generally increase kinase activity, although there are some discrepancies in different studies as to whether all mutations increase kinase function (4,6,(8)(9)(10)(11). However, the kinase activity of LRRK2 is required for the ability of the mutant protein to cause neuronal damage, at least in cell culture models (5, 10), suggesting that kinase inhibitors may represent a therapeutic avenue for PD.Although the kinase domain therefore is important in understanding pathogenesis, mutations also are fo...

Trypanosomatids are pathogenic protozoa that undergo a unique form of post-transcriptional RNA editing that inserts or deletes uridine nucleotides in many mitochondrial pre-mRNAs. Editing is catalyzed by a large multiprotein complex, the editosome. A key editosome enzyme, RNA editing terminal uridylyl transferase 2 (TUTase 2; RET2) catalyzes the uridylate addition reaction. Here, we report the 1.8 Å crystal structure of the Trypanosoma brucei RET2 apoenzyme and its complexes with uridine nucleotides. This structure reveals that the specificity of the TUTase for UTP is determined by a crucial water molecule that is exquisitely positioned by the conserved carboxylates D421 and E424 to sense a hydrogen atom on the N3 position of the uridine base. The three-domain structure also unveils a unique domain arrangement not seen before in the nucleotidyltansferase superfamily, with a large domain insertion between the catalytic aspartates. This insertion is present in all trypanosomatid TUTases. We also show that TbRET2 is essential for survival of the bloodstream form of the parasite and therefore is a potential target for drug therapy.

Mitochondrial mRNA editing in trypanosomatid parasites involves several multiprotein assemblies, including three very similar complexes that contain the key enzymatic editing activities and sediment at ϳ20S on glycerol gradients. These ϳ20S editosomes have a common set of 12 proteins, including enzymes for uridylyl (U) removal and addition, 2 RNA ligases, 2 proteins with RNase III-like domains, and 6 proteins with predicted oligonucleotide binding (OB) folds. In addition, each of the 3 distinct ϳ20S editosomes contains a different RNase III-type endonuclease, 1 of 3 related proteins and, in one case, an additional exonuclease. Here we present a protein-protein interaction map that was obtained through a combination of yeast two-hybrid analysis and subcomplex reconstitution with recombinant protein. This map interlinks ten of the proteins and in several cases localizes the protein region mediating the interaction, which often includes the predicted OB-fold domain. The results indicate that the OB-fold proteins form an extensive protein-protein interaction network that connects the two trimeric subcomplexes that catalyze U removal or addition and RNA ligation. One of these proteins, KREPA6, interacts with the OB-fold zinc finger protein in each subcomplex that interconnects their two catalytic proteins. Another OB-fold protein, KREPA3, appears to link to the putative endonuclease subcomplex. These results reveal a physical organization that underlies the coordination of the various catalytic and substrate binding activities within the ϳ20S editosomes during the editing process.

Mutations in Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are a common cause of inherited Parkinson's disease (PD). The protein is large and complex, but pathogenic mutations cluster in a region containing GTPase and kinase domains. LRRK2 can autophosphorylate in vitro within a dimer pair, although the significance of this reaction is unclear. Here, we mapped the sites of autophosphorylation within LRRK2 and found several potential phosphorylation sites within the GTPase domain. Using mass spectrometry, we found that Thr1343 is phosphorylated and, using kinase dead versions of LRRK2, show that this is an autophosphorylation site. However, we also find evidence for additional sites in the GTPase domain and in other regions of the protein suggesting that there may be multiple autophosphorylation sites within LRRK2. These data suggest that the kinase and GTPase activities of LRRK2 may exhibit complex autoregulatory interdependence.