Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.05.27.119388v1?rss=1 Authors: Liu, Q., Bautista-Gomez, J., Higgins, D. A., Yu, J., Xiong, Y. Abstract: Recent genetic evidence revealed that endocytic pathway plays a major role in Parkinsons disease (PD) risk. However, the molecular mechanism of how endocytic defects contribute to dopaminergic neurodegeneration in PD is poorly understood. Here we report that LRRK2, the mutations of which are the most genetic causes of PD, binds to and phosphorylates AP2M1, the core component of endocytosis that has been recently implicated in PD risk. Our study revealed that abnormal AP2M1 phosphorylation cycle, regulated either by knockout or overexpression of LRRK2, cause endocytic defects. Our study also uncovered a novel tissue-specific regulation of AP2M1 phosphorylation by LRRK2. Further, we found that LRRK2 phosphorylation on AP2M1 mediates LRRK2-induced neuronal toxicity both in vitro in neuronal cultures and in vivo in Drosophila dopamine neurons. Importantly, AP2M1 phosphorylation levels are elevated in patient fibroblasts of both LRRK2-associated PD and sporadic PD, suggesting the clinical relevance of our finding in PD. Together, our study provides a direct mechanistic link between LRRK2, AP2 and endocytosis in PD pathogenesis. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info