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Rin1 has been shown to play an important role in endocytosis. In this study we demonstrated that depletion of Rin1 from the cytosol blocked the fusion reaction. More importantly, endosome fusion was rescued by the addition of Rin1 proteins depending on the presence of Rab5, and its effector EEA1. Furthermore, we found that Syntaxin 13, but not Syntaxin 7, was required by Rin1 to support endosome fusion. We also identified six mutations on the Vps9 domain of Rin1 that failed to rescue the fusion reaction. Two of them, Rin1: D537A and Rin1: Y561F mutants showed dramatic inhibitory effect on the fusion reaction, which correlate with their inability to properly activate Rab5 or to bind endosomal membranes. Taken together, our results suggest that specific residues on the Vsp9 domain of Rin1 are required for its interaction with Rab5, binding to the endosomal membranes and subsequent regulation of the fusion reaction.

In this study, we initiated experiments to address the structure-function relationship of Rin1. A total of ten substitute mutations were created, and their effects on Rin1 function were examined. Of the ten mutants, four of them (P541A, E574A, Y577F, T580A) were defective in Rab5 binding, while two other Rin1 mutants (D537A, Y561F) partially interacted with Rab5. Mutations in several other residues (Y506F, Y523F, T572A, Y578F) resulted in partial loss of Rab5 function. Biochemical studies showed that six of them (D537A, P541A, Y561F, E574A, Y577F, T580A) were unable to activate Rab5 in an in vitro assay. In addition, Rin1: D537A and Rin1: Y561F mutants showed dominant inhibition of Rab5 function. Consistent with the biochemical studies, we observed that these two Rin1 mutants have lost their ability to stimulate the endocytosis of EGF, form enlarged Rab5-positive endosomes, or support in vitro endosome fusion. Based on these data, our results showed that mutations in the Vps9 domain of Rin1 lead to a loss-of-function phenotype, indicating a specific structure-function relationship between Rab5 and Rin1.