The issue of waste disposal in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis

Genetic risk factors linked to the onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD), such as mutations on the leucine rich repeat kinase (LRRK2) and Gucocerebrosidase (GBA1) genes, also contribute to lysosomal dysfunction. The uncontrolled misfolding and aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) and the cell-to-cell spreading of the aggregates may be facilitated by the impairment of protein degradation pathways such as the autophagy–lysosomal pathway (ALP). In a recent issue of Scientific Reports, Hoffmann and colleagues demonstrated that the converse association is also true.