New insights on Parkinson's disease genes: the link between mitochondria impairment and neuroinflammation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor disturbances, appearance of Lewy bodies and dopaminergic neuronal death. The etiology of PD is unknown, although aging and neurotoxins are established risk factors. The activation of glial cells in the brain is the first defense mechanism against pathological events in neurodegenerative diseases, and neuroinflammation is suggested to play an important role in PD disease progression leading to dopaminergic neuronal degeneration. Gene mutations in several PD-related genes may affect up to 15% of the PD cases. These gene mutations can cause either loss or gain of function in their respective proteins leading to autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant PD, respectively. Most of the identified genes play a role in mitochondrial activity and integrity, and this was demonstrated mostly in neuronal cells. In this review, we aim to describe the link between PD-related genes, which are involved in mitochondrial function, and deleterious neuroinflammation.