Loss of Lrrk2 might cause liver hemangiomas in mice

• 作 者: BenWu;ZhuohuaZhang;LongMa;
• 机 构: The State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
• 出 处: 第十四次全国医学遗传学学术会议
• 发表日期: 2015年期

　　Parkinson's disease (PD) is a severe nervous system disorder exemplified by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantial nuclei of the midbrain.To date over 18 genes have been identified to be associated with PD, among which LRRK2 mutations are found in most familial cases of PD.However the function of LRRK2 remains to be clarified.Recently we found that mice homozygous for a LRRK2 null mutation developed localized overgrowth of liver blood vessels similar to hemangiomas at 20-24 months old.The penetrance of the blood vessel overgrowth is around 70% (9/13).We did not find similar liver phenotypes in LRRK2 null mice younger than 18 months old,suggesting that this phenotype is strongly age-dependent.We also found that LRRK2 protein is apparently expressed ih the kidney, spleen and relatively weakly in cerebellum.However LRRK2 could not be detected in the mouse liver.We propose that LRRK2 might inhibit angiogenesis in mouse liver and are in process of determining the molecular mechanism underlying this phenotype.