Epigenetic silencing of spermatocyte-specific and neuronal genes by SUMO modification of the transcription factor Sp3.

ABSTRACT: SUMO modification of transcription factors is linked to repression of transcription. The physiological significance of SUMO attachment to a particular transcriptional regulator, however, is largely unknown. We have employed the ubiquitously expressed murine transcription factor Sp3 to analyze the role of SUMOylation in vivo. We generated mice and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) carrying a subtle point mutation in the SUMO attachment sequence of Sp3 (IKEE(553)D mutation). The E(553)D mutation impedes SUMOylation of Sp3 at K(551)in vivo, without affecting Sp3 protein levels. Expression profiling revealed that spermatocyte-specific genes, such as Dmc1 and Dnahc8, and neuronal genes, including Paqr6, Rims3, and Robo3, are de-repressed in non-testicular and extra-neuronal mouse tissues and i

SUBMITTER: Stielow B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2978682 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature