RING finger protein 152 (RNF152) is a novel RING finger protein and has not been well characterized. We report here that RNF152 is a canonical RING finger protein and has E3 ligase activity. It is polyubiqitinated partly through Lys-48-linked ubiquitin chains in vivo and this phenomenon is dependent on its RING finger domain and transmembrane domain. RNF152 is localized in lysosomes and co-localized with LAMP3, a lysosome marker. Moreover, over-expression of RNF152 in Hela cells induces apoptosis. These results suggest that RNF152 is a lysosome localized E3 ligase with pro-apoptotic activities. It is the first E3 ligase identified so far that is involved in lysosome-related apoptosis.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Apoptosis ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Lysosomes ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex ; metabolism ; RING Finger Domains ; Sequence Alignment ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ; metabolism ; Ubiquitination