Identification of RELT homologues that associate with RELT and are phosphorylated by OSR1

RELL1 and RELL2 are two newly identified RELT homologues that bind to the TNF receptor family member RELT. The expression of RELL1 at the mRNA level is ubiquitous, whereas expression of RELL2 mRNA is more restricted to particular tissues. RELT, RELL1, and RELL2 co-localized with one another at the plasma membrane. The three proteins interacted with one another as demonstrated by in vitro co-immunoprecipitation experiments. We propose that RELL1 and RELL2 be considered RELT family members based on their similar amino acid sequences and on their ability to physically interact with one another. OSR1 was identified through a yeast two-hybrid screen utilizing the intracellular portion of RELL1 as bait, and OSR1 was shown to interact with the three RELT family members by in vitro co-immunoprecipitation experiments. Additionally, OSR1 phosphorylated the RELT family members in an in vitro kinase assay. These results report two novel homologues of RELT that interact with RELT and are phosphorylated by the OSR1 kinase.