Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

In Vitro SUMOylation Assay to Study SUMO E3 Ligase Activity
Published on: January 29, 2018
Dynamic regulation of steroid hormone receptor transcriptional activity by reversible SUMOylation
Todd P Knutson1, Carol A Lange
1Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation, Department of Medicine, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Abstract:
Transcription complexes containing steroid hormone receptors (SRs) have been well characterized at selected canonical target genes. More recently, the advent of whole genome technologies has allowed for complete SR transcriptome analyses in diverse cell types and in response to a variety of cellular stimuli. These types of studies have revealed little overlap between the tissue or cell type-specific transcriptomes of a given SR, suggesting that all SRs are highly context-dependent transcription factors. However, the mechanisms controlling SR promoter selectivity have not been fully elucidated. Many factors may influence SR promoter selectivity, including chromatin structure, cofactor availability, and posttranslational modifications to SRs and/or their numerous coregulators; this review focuses on the impact that covalent attachment of small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) moieties to SRs (i.e., SUMOylation) have on the transcriptional regulation of SR target genes.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Co-activators and Co-repressors
Co-activators and Co-repressors
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
Covalently Linked Protein Regulators
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:

