SignificanceLRRK2, a protein kinase related to Parkinson’s disease, is implicated in the maintenance of lysosomes, and a subset of Rab GTPases has been identified as bona fide substrates of LRRK2. Here, we reveal a key stress-responsive pathway composed of Rab7L1, LRRK2, and phosphorylated Rab8/10 involved in lysosomal homeostasis. Lysosomal overload stress induces translocation of Rab7L1 and LRRK2 to lysosomes, where LRRK2 is activated, and stabilizes Rab8 and Rab10 through phosphorylation. The activation of this machinery protects against lysosomal enlargement and upregulates lysosomal secretion through Rab effectors, EHBP1 and EHBP1L1. These findings elucidate a novel regulatory mechanism of Rab GTPases by phosphorylation by LRRK2 in stressed lysosomes, which may also be involved in the pathomechanism of LRRK2-related disorders.

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) has been linked to several clinical disorders including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Crohn’s disease, and leprosy. Furthermore in rodents, LRRK2 deficiency or inhibition leads to lysosomal pathology in kidney and lung. Here we provide evidence that LRRK2 functions together with a second PD-associated gene, RAB7L1, within an evolutionarily conserved genetic module in diverse cellular contexts. In C. elegans neurons, orthologues of LRRK2 and RAB7L1 act coordinately in an ordered genetic pathway to regulate axonal elongation. Further genetic studies implicated the AP-3 complex, which is a known regulator of axonal morphology as well as of intracellular protein trafficking to the lysosome compartment, as a physiological downstream effector of LRRK2 and RAB7L1. Additional cell-based studies implicated LRRK2 in the AP-3 complex-related intracellular trafficking of lysosomal membrane proteins. In mice, deficiency of either RAB7L1 or LRRK2 leads to prominent age-associated lysosomal defects in kidney proximal tubule cells, in the absence of frank CNS pathology. We hypothesize that defects in this evolutionarily conserved genetic pathway underlie the diverse pathologies associated with LRRK2 in humans and in animal models.

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