Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 – Page 2 – The Science of Parkinson's

Denali

This week Denali Therapeutics released the results of a phase I clinical trial of their primary product, called DNL-201.

DNL-201 is a LRRK2 inhibitor that the company is attempting to take to the clinic for Parkinson’s disease.

In today’s post we will look at what LRRK2 is, how an inhibitor might help in Parkinson’s, and what the results of the trial actually mean.

Wonder_Lake_and_Denali

Denali. Source: Wikipedia

Denali (Koyukon for “the high one”; also known as Mount McKinley) in Alaska is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 m) above sea level. The first verified ascent to Denali’s summit occurred on June 7, 1913, by four climbers Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum.

Tatum (left), Karstens (middle), and Harper (right). Source: Gutenberg

Robert Tatum later commented, “The view from the top of Mount McKinley is like looking out the windows of Heaven!”

More recently another adventurous group associated with ‘Denali’ have been trying to scale lofty heights, but of a completely different sort from the mountaineering kind.

Continue reading “Inhibiting LRRK2: The Denali Phase I results” →

Genetic mutations (or ‘variants’) in the Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (or LRRK2; also known as Dardarin) gene are associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s. As a result this gene has become the focus of a lot of genetic research.

But what about LRRK2’s less well-known, rather neglected sibling LRRK1?

In today’s post, we will look at new research that suggests the LRRK siblings could both be involved with Parkinson’s disease.

I recommend to the reader that today’s post should be read with the following music playing in the background:

Inspired by a poem of the same title, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote ‘The Lark Ascending’ in 1914. It is still to this day, a tune that remains a firm favourite with BBC listeners here in the UK (Source).

On to business:

While the music and the poem are about a songbird, today’s SoPD post deals with a different kind of Lark.

Or should I say LRRK.

This is Sergey Brin.

sergey_brin

Nice guy.

He was one of the founders of a small company you may have heard of – it’s called “Google”.

Having changed the way the world searches the internet, he is now turning his attention to other projects.

One of those other projects is close to our hearts: Parkinson’s disease.

Continue reading “The LRRK Ascending” →