LRRK2 correlates with macrophage infiltration in pan-cancer

Leucine-rich repeat kinase2 (LRRK2) influences the host immune responses and correlates with the pathogenesis of inflammation, cancer as well as Parkinson' Disease. Herein, we explored the oncogenic role of LRRK2 at pan-cancer level and validated the analysis by single cell RNA-sequencing and in-vitro experiments. As a result, LRRK2 significantly correlated with the survival events. Specifically, LRRK2 increased the risk of Low-Grade Glioma whereas improved the survival probability of patients with Skin Cutaneous Melanoma. Gene set enrichment analysis demonstrated the involvement of LRRK2 in the host immune responses. Within the tumor microenvironment, LRRK2 was positively associated with the recruitment of macrophages. Furthermore, scRNA-seq and co-culture experiments demonstrated that LRRK2 deficiency impaired macrophage functions, and influenced the neoplastic progression in a cancer type-specific manner. Therefore, the present study provided a therapeutic strategy for LGG based on the interference with LRRK2 expression and activity to prevent macrophage recruitment and promote tumor eradication.