RNF122: A novel ubiquitin ligase associated with calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand

BACKGROUND: RNF122 is a recently discovered RING finger protein that is associated with HEK293T cell viability and is overexpressed in anaplastic thyroid cancer cells. RNF122 owns a RING finger domain in C terminus and transmembrane domain in N terminus. However, the biological mechanism underlying RNF122 action remains unknown. RESULTS: In this study, we characterized RNF122 both biochemically and intracellularly in order to gain an understanding of its biological role. RNF122 was identified as a new ubiquitin ligase that can ubiquitinate itself and undergoes degradation in a RING finger-dependent manner. From a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand (CAML) as an RNF122-interacting protein. To examine the interaction between CAML and RNF122, we performed co-immunoprecipitation and colocalization experiments using intact cells. What is more, we found that CAML is not a substrate of ubiquitin ligase RNF122, but that, instead, it stabilizes RNF122. CONCLUSIONS: RNF122 can be characterized as a C3H2C3-type RING finger-containing E3 ubiquitin ligase localized to the ER. RNF122 promotes its own degradation in a RING finger-and proteasome-dependent manner. RNF122 interacts with CAML, and its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity was noted to be dependent on the RING finger domain.