TRPC6, encoding a member of the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily of ion channels, is a calcium-permeable cation channel, which mediates capacitive calcium entry into the cell. Until today, seven different mutations in TRPC6 have been identified as a cause of autosomal-dominant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in adults.

Here we report a novel TRPC6 mutation that leads to early onset FSGS. We identified one family in whom disease segregated with a novel TRPC6 mutation (M132T), that also affected pediatric individuals as early as nine years of age. Twenty-one pedigrees compatible with an autosomal-dominant mode of inheritance and biopsy-proven FSGS were selected from a worldwide cohort of 550 families with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). Whole cell current recordings of the mutant TRPC6 channel, compared to the wild-type channel, showed a 3 to 5-fold increase in the average out- and inward TRPC6 current amplitude. The mean inward calcium current of M132T was 10-fold larger than that of wild-type TRPC6. Interestingly, M132T mutants also lacked time-dependent inactivation. Generation of a novel double mutant M132T/N143S did not further augment TRPC6 channel activity.

In summary, our data shows that TRPC6 mediated FSGS can also be found in children. The large increase in channel currents and impaired channel inactivation caused by the M132T mutant leads to an aggressive phenotype that underlines the importance of calcium dose channeled through TRPC6.