CDK5 mediated phosphorylation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 regulates its activity and neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s Disease

Hyperactivation of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) by p25, contributes to neuroinflammation causing neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and Alzheimer diseases (AD). However, the mechanism by which CDK5 induces neuroinflammation in the PD brain is largely unexplored. Here, we show that CDK5 phosphorylates cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) at Thr-268 and Ser-505 sites lead to its activation and generation of eicosanoid products. Mutational studies using site-directed mutagenesis and molecular simulations show that the architecture of the protein changes upon each single-point mutation. Interestingly, double-mutations also led to severe decline in the activity of cPLA2 and disruption of its translocation to the plasma membrane. Further, the brain lysates of transgenic PD mouse models show hyperactivation of CDK5 resulting in enhanced phosphorylation of Thr-268 and Ser-505 of cPLA2 and its heightened activity confirming the findings observed in the cell culture model of PD. These phosphorylation sites of cPLA2 and CDK5 could be explored as the future therapeutic targets against neuroinflammation in PD. Further, conjoint transcriptomic analysis of the publicly available human PD datasets strengthens the hypothesis that genes of the arachidonic acid, prostaglandin synthesis and inflammatory pathways are significantly upregulated in case of the PD patients as compared to that of healthy controls.