Mutations in the PARK2 (parkin) gene are responsible for an autosomal recessive form of Parkinson's disease. The parkin protein is a RING-in-between-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase that exhibits low basal activity. We describe the crystal structure of full-length rat parkin. The structure shows parkin in an autoinhibited state and provides insight into how it is activated. RING0 occludes the ubiquitin acceptor site Cys(431) in RING2, whereas a repressor element of parkin binds RING1 and blocks its E2-binding site. Mutations that disrupted these inhibitory interactions activated parkin both in vitro and in cells. Parkin is neuroprotective, and these findings may provide a structural and mechanistic framework for enhancing parkin activity.

Mutations in phosphatase and tensin homologue-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) cause recessively inherited Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. In healthy mitochondria, PINK1 is rapidly degraded in a process involving both mitochondrial proteases and the proteasome. However, when mitochondrial import is compromised by depolarization, PINK1 accumulates on the mitochondrial surface where it recruits the PD-linked E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin from the cytosol, which in turn mediates the autophagic destruction of the dysfunctional organelles. Using an unbiased RNA-mediated interference (RNAi)-based screen, we identified four mitochondrial proteases, mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP), presenilin-associated rhomboid-like protease (PARL), m-AAA and ClpXP, involved in PINK1 degradation. We find that PINK1 turnover is particularly sensitive to even modest reductions in MPP levels. Moreover, PINK1 cleavage by MPP is coupled to import such that reducing MPP activity induces PINK1 accumulation at the mitochondrial surface, leading to Parkin recruitment and mitophagy. These results highlight a new role for MPP in PINK1 import and mitochondrial quality control via the PINK1-Parkin pathway.

Mutations in the parkin gene are responsible for a common inherited form of Parkinson's disease (PD). Parkin is a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase with an N-terminal ubiquitin-like domain (Ubl). We report here that the parkin Ubl binds SH3 domains from endocytic BAR proteins such as endophilin-A with an affinity comparable to proline-rich domains (PRDs) from well-established SH3 partners. The NMR structure of the Ubl-SH3 complex identifies the PaRK extension, a unique C-terminal motif in the parkin Ubl required for SH3 binding and for parkin-mediated ubiquitination of endophilin-A in vitro. In nerve terminals, conditions that promote phosphorylation enhance the interaction between parkin and endophilin-A and increase the levels of ubiquitinated proteins within PRD-associated synaptic protein complexes in wild-type but not parkin knockout brain. The findings identify a pathway for the recruitment of synaptic substrates to parkin with the potential to explain the defects in synaptic transmission observed in recessive forms of PD.