LRRK2 and neurodegenerative disease: Although these molecular and cellular changes are observed only in the kidney but not in the brain of LRRK2-/- mice, they are very similar to processes that have been implicated in pathogenesis of PD and other neurodegenerative diseases, making LRRK2-/- kidneys a relevant and valuable in vivo model, which provides a physiological setting for the studies of LRRK2 function and the identification of the cellular pathways that LRRK2 pathogenic mutations may affect.