Establishment of a human cell line stably overexpressing mouse Nip45 and characterization of Nip45 subcellular localization.

The nuclear factor of activated T cells, cytoplasmic, calcineurin dependent 2 interacting protein, Nfatc2ip (Nip45), has been implicated as a crucial coordinator of the immune response and of cellular differentiation in humans and mice, and contains SUMO-like domains in its C-terminal region. However, the significance of its N-terminal region and its correlation to the SUMO modification pathway remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, a human cultured cell line was established, in which FLAG-tagged mouse Nip45 (FLAG-mNip45) was stably overexpressed.

Structural basis for regulation of poly-SUMO chain by a SUMO-like domain of Nip45.

Post-translational modification by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) provides an important regulatory mechanism in diverse cellular processes. Modification of SUMO has been shown to target proteins involved in systems ranging from DNA repair pathways to the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation system by the action of SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligases (STUbLs). STUbLs recognize target proteins modified with a poly-SUMO chain through their SUMO-interacting motifs (SIMs).