Familial focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS)-linked α-actinin 4 (ACTN4) mutants lose the ability to activate transcription by nuclear hormone receptors

Mutations in alpha actinin 4 (ACTN4) are linked to familial forms of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a kidney disease characterized by proteinuria due to podocyte injury. The mechanisms underlying ACTN4 mutant-associated FSGS are not completely understood. Although alpha actinins are better known to crosslink actin filaments and modulate cytoskeletal organization, we have previously shown that ACTN4 interacts with transcription factors including estrogen receptor and MEF2s and potentiates their transcriptional activity. Nuclear receptors including retinoic acid receptor (RAR) have been proposed to play a protective role in podocytes. We show here that ACTN4 interacts with and enhances transcriptional activation by RARα. In addition, FSGS-linked ACTN4 mutants not only mis-localized to the cytoplasm, but also lost their ability to associate with nuclear receptors. Consequently, FSGS-linked ACTN4 mutants failed to potentiate transcriptional activation by nuclear hormone receptors in podocytes. In addition, overexpression of these mutants suppressed the transcriptional activity mediated by endogenous wild-type ACTN4 possibly by a cytoplasmic sequestration mechanism. Our data provide the first link between FSGS-linked ACTN4 mutants and transcriptional activation by nuclear receptor such as RARα and PPARγ.