The TRC8 gene covers 13.96 kb. The gene contains 2 confirmed introns, 2 of which are alternative. The gene showed similarity to the hereditary basal cell carcinoma/segment polarity gene, patched (PTCH) This similarity involved 2 regions of patched, the putative sterol-sensing domain and the second extracellular loop that participates in the binding of sonic hedgehog (SHH). In the t(3;8) translocation, TRC8 was found to be fused to FHIT and disrupted within the sterol-sensing domain. In contrast, the FHIT coding region was maintained and expressed. In a series of sporadic renal carcinomas, an acquired TRC8 mutation was identified. By analogy to patched, TRC8 might function as a signaling receptor, and other pathway members, to be defined, are mutation candidates in malignant diseases involving the kidney and thyroid.

Plasma membrane

The protein encoded by this gene is a multi-membrane spanning protein containing a RING-H2 finger. This protein is located in the endoplasmic reticulum, and has been shown to possess ubiquitin ligase activity. This gene was found to be interrupted by a t(3:8) translocation in a family with hereditary renal and non-medulary thyroid cancer. Studies of the Drosophila counterpart suggested that this protein may interact with tumor suppressor protein VHL, as well as with COPS5/JAB1, a protein responsible for the degradation of tumor suppressor CDKN1B/P27KIP