Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of familial Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this work, we demonstrate that LRRK2 can be degraded in lysosomes by chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), whereas the most common pathogenic mutant form of LRRK2, G2019S, is poorly degraded by this pathway. In contrast to typical CMA substrates, lysosomal binding of both wild-type and several pathogenic mutant LRRK2 proteins is enhanced in the presence of other CMA substrates, which interferes with the organization of the CMA translocation complex, resulting in defective CMA. Cells respond to such LRRK2-mediated CMA compromise by increasing levels of the CMA lysosomal receptor as seen in neuronal cultures and brains of LRRK2 transgenic mice, iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons, and brains of mutant LRRK2 PD patients. This novel LRRK2 self-perpetuating inhibitory effect on CMA could underlie toxicity in PD by compromising the degradation of alpha-synuclein, another PD-related protein degraded by this pathway.

Huntington's disease (HD) is one of the few neurodegenerative diseases with a known genetic cause, knowledge that has enabled the creation of animal models using genetic manipulations that aim to recapitulate HD pathology. The study of behavioral and neuropathological phenotypes of these HD models, however, has been plagued by inconsistent results across laboratories stemming from the lack of standardized husbandry and testing conditions, in addition to the intrinsic differences between the models. We have compared different HD models using standardized conditions to identify the most robust phenotypic differences, best suited for preclinical therapeutic efficacy studies. With a battery of tests of sensory-motor function, such as the open field and prepulse inhibition tests, we replicate previous results showing a strong and progressive behavioral deficit in the R6/2 line with an average of 129 CAG repeats in a mixed CBA/J and C57BL/6J background. We present the first behavioral characterization of a new model, an R6/2 line with an average of 248 CAG repeats in a pure C57BL/6J background, which also showed a progressive and robust phenotype. The BACHD in a FVB/N background showed robust and progressive behavioral phenotype, while the YAC128 full-length model on either an FVB/N or a C57BL/6J background generally showed milder deficits. Finally, the Hdh Q111 knock-in mouse on a CD1 background showed very mild deficits. This first extensive standardized cross-characterization of several HD animal models under standardized conditions highlights several behavioral outcomes, such as hypoactivity, amenable to standardized preclinical therapeutic drug screening.

Autophagy is a lysosomal degradative process to recycle cellular waste and eliminate potentially toxic damaged organelles and protein aggregates. The important cytoprotective functions of autophagy are evidenced by the diverse pathogenic consequences that may stem from autophagy dysregulation in a growing number of neurodegenerative disorders. In many of the diseases associated with autophagy anomalies, it is the final stage of autophagy-lysosomal degradation that is disrupted. In several disorders, including AD, defective lysosomal acidification contributes to this proteolytic failure. The complex regulation of lysosomal pH makes this process vulnerable to disruption by many factors and reliable lysosomal pH measurements have become increasingly important in investigations of disease mechanisms. Although various reagents for pH quantification have been developed over several decades, they are not all equally well-suited for measuring the pH of lysosomes. Here, we evaluate the most commonly used pH probes for sensitivity and localization and identify Lysosensor Yellow/Blue-Dextran, among currently used probes, as having the most optimal profile of properties for measuring lysosomal pH. In addition, we review evidence that lysosomal acidification is defective in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and extend our original findings of elevated lysosomal pH in presenilin 1 (PS1)-deficient blastocysts and neurons to additional cell models of PS1- and PS1/2-deficiency, to fibroblasts from AD patients with PS1 mutations, and to neurons in the PS/APP mouse model of AD.

Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is a selective lysosomal pathway for the degradation of cytosolic proteins. We review in this work some of the recent findings on this pathway regarding the molecular mechanisms that contribute to substrate targeting, binding and translocation across the lysosomal membrane. We have placed particular emphasis on the critical role that changes in the lipid composition of the lysosomal membrane play in the regulation of CMA, as well as the modulatory effect of other novel CMA components. In the second part of this review, we describe the physiological relevance of CMA and its role as one of the cellular mechanisms involved in the response to stress. Changes with age in CMA activity and the contribution of failure of CMA to the phenotype of aging and to the pathogenesis of several age-related pathologies are also described.

Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is an intracellular catabolic pathway that mediates the degradation of a selective subset of cytosolic proteins in lysosomes (Dice, 2007;Cuervo, 2010;Kon and Cuervo, 2010;Orenstein and Cuervo, 2010). The term autophagy (or selfeating) is broadly used to designate the lysosomal delivery and degradation of intracellular components (Mizushima et al., 2008;Mizushima and Levine, 2010;Yang and Klionsky, 2010). Various types of autophagy coexist in almost all cells, and they can be differentiated by the mechanisms that mediate the delivery of cargo (the substrates to be degraded) to lysosomes. Macroautophagy and microautophagy are variants of the autophagic process, in which entire regions of cytosol (in 'bulk' autophagy) or selective cytosolic components (organelles, protein complexes, protein aggregates, pathogens, etc.) are sequestered in vesicular compartments. Lysosomal enzymes can gain access to the enclosed cargo through direct fusion of the vesicles with lysosomes (in macroautophagy), or by internalization of cargo-containing vesicles that form at the lysosomal membrane (in microautophagy). A third form of autophagy, solely dedicated to degradation of soluble proteins can also be detected in most cell types in mammals. This autophagic process, known as chaperone-mediated autophagy, differs from the other forms of autophagy in both the way in which cargo proteins are recognized for lysosomal delivery and the way in which these proteins reach the lysosomal lumen (Dice, 2007;Cuervo, 2010). In this article and the accompanying poster, we summarize the main steps involved in degradation of cytosolic proteins by CMA, the essential components of this pathway both in the cytosol and at the lysosomal membrane and the basis for the regulation of this autophagic process. We also include a synopsis of the described physiological functions of CMA and some (See poster insert) Degradation by the lysosomal proteases CMA is a selective form of autophagy by which single soluble proteins are directed one-by-one to lysosomes for degradation.The steps in CMA are:Validated CMA substrates