Mutations in Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 ( LRRK2) enhance levels of autophosphorylated LRRK2 protein and are the most common known cause of inherited Parkinson disease (PD). LRRK2 has been further implicated in susceptibility to idiopathic PD in genetic association studies.
To compare autophosphorylated Ser(P)-1292 LRRK2 levels from biobanked urine samples with clinical data in PD and controls.
Ser(P)-1292 LRRK2 levels were measured from urine exosome fractions from 79 PD and 79 neurologically healthy controls enrolled into the Parkinson Disease Biomarker Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Ser(P)-1292 LRRK2 levels were higher in males than females ( p<0.0001) and elevated in PD compared to controls ( p=0.0014). Ser(P)-1292 LRRK2 levels were higher in PD cases with worse cognition and correlated with poor performance in MoCA (r=−0.2679 [−0.4628, −0.0482]), MDS-UPDRS subscales 1 and 2 (r=0.2239 [0.0014, 0,4252], 0.3404 [0.1276, 0.5233] respectively), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (r=0.3215 [0.1066, 0.5077]), and Modified Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scales (r=−0.4455 [−0.6078, −0.2475]). Ser(P)-1292 LRRK2 levels predicted those with worse cognitive impairment in PD patients with some success (c=0.73).