Publications | Structure-based design and characterization of Parkin activating mutations

Human autosomal recessive mutations in the Parkin gene are causal for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Parkin encodes a ubiquitin E3 ligase that functions together with the PD associated kinase, PINK1, in a mitochondrial quality control pathway. Structural studies reveal that Parkin exists in an inactive conformation mediated by multiple autoinhibitory domain interfaces. Here we have performed comprehensive mutational analysis of both human and rat Parkin to unbiasedly determine Parkin activating mutations across all major autoinhibitory interfaces. Out of 31 mutations tested, we identify 11 activating mutations clustered near the RING0:RING2 or REP:RING1 interfaces, which reduce the thermal stability of Parkin. Of these, we demonstrate that three mutations, V393D, A401D, and W403A located at the REP:RING1 interface were able to completely rescue a Parkin S65A mutant, defective in mitophagy, in cell-based studies. Overall our data extends previous analysis of Parkin activation mutants and suggests that small molecules that mimic REP:RING1 destabilisation offer therapeutic potential for PD patients harbouring select Parkin mutations.

Principal Investigator(s):

Author(s):
Stevens, M.U., Croteau, N., Eldeeb, M.A., Zeng, Z.W., Toth, R., Durcan, T.M., Springer, W., Fon, E.A., Muqit, M.M.*, Trempe, J-F

Paper:
Online paper
Citation:
Stevens, M.U., Croteau, N., Eldeeb, M.A., Zeng, Z.W., Toth, R., Durcan, T.M., Springer, W., Fon, E.A., Muqit, M.M.*, Trempe, J-F
BioRxiv
2022
Feb
doi:
10.1101/2022.02.22.481412