RNF24, a new TRPC interacting protein, causes the intracellular retention of TRPC

TRPCs function as cation channels in non-excitable cells. The N-terminal tails of all TRPCs contain an ankyrin-like repeat domain, one of the most common protein-protein interaction motifs. Using a yeast two-hybrid screening approach, we found that RNF24, a new membrane RING-H2 protein, interacted with the ankyrin-like repeat domain of TRPC6. GST pull-down and co-immunoprecipitation assays showed that RNF24 interacted with all TRPCs. Cell surface-labelling assays showed that the expression of TRPC6 at the surface of HEK 293T cells was greatly reduced when it was transiently co-transfected with RNF24. Confocal microscopy showed that TRPC3 and TRPC6 co-localized with RNF24 in a perinuclear compartment and that RNF24 co-localized with mannosidase II, a marker of the Golgi cisternae. Using a pulse-chase approach, we showed that RNF24 did not alter the maturation process of TRPC6. Moreover, in HEK 293T cells, RNF24 did not alter carbachol-induced Ca(2+) entry via endogenous channels or TRPC6. These results indicate that RNF24 interacts with TRPCs in the Golgi apparatus and affects TRPC intracellular trafficking without affecting their activity.