Surf4 Promotes Endoplasmic Reticulum Exit of the Lysosomal Prosaposin-Progranulin Complex

Progranulin is a lysosomal protein whose haploinsufficiency causes frontotemporal dementia while homozygous loss of progranulin causes neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, a lysosomal storage disease. The sensitivity of cells to progranulin deficiency raises important questions about how cells coordinate intracellular trafficking of progranulin to ensure its efficient delivery to lysosomes. In this study, we discover that progranulin interacts with prosaposin, another lysosomal protein, within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and that prosaposin is required for the efficient ER exit of progranulin. Mechanistically, we identify an interaction between prosaposin and Surf4, a receptor that promotes loading of lumenal cargos into COPII coated vesicles, and establish that Surf4 is critical for the efficient export of progranulin and prosaposin from the ER. Collectively, this work demonstrates a network of interactions occurring early in the secretory pathway that promote the ER exit and subsequent lysosomal delivery of newly translated progranulin and prosaposin.