Mutations in Parkinson's disease can mislead iron in the brain

According to a new study published in the open-access journal "Public Science Library Biology" on December 16, a common genetic mutation in Parkinson's disease can cause the mislocalization of iron in activated microglia

Mutations in the LRRK2 gene account for approximately 5% of all familial Parkinson's disease cases and approximately 1% of non-familial Parkinson's disease cases

To understand how the LRRK2 mutation found in Parkinson's disease affects this process, the authors first observed the movement of Rab8a in mouse astrocytes containing the pathogenic mutation LRRK2

This Rab8a positioning error has a significant impact on transferrin receptors: in cells containing normal LRRK2, transferrin receptors are distributed in multiple vesicle types

Cookson said: "Our data indicate that a key step in the pathogenesis of LRRK2 Parkinson's disease is the protein's interaction with Rab8a and its subsequent effect on activating the mislocalization of iron in microglia

Cookson added: “Our research shows that based on the LRRK2 gene, the regulation of iron in the Parkinson’s disease model has changed

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