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Heinrich-Pette-Institut für Experimentelle Virologie und Immunologie an der Universität Hamburg, D-20251 Hamburg, Federal
Republic of Germany
PML and Sp100 proteins are associated with
nuclear domains, known as nuclear dots (NDs). They
were discovered in the context of leukemic transformation and as an autoantigen in primary biliary cirrhosis,
respectively. Both proteins are expressed in the form of
many COOH-terminally spliced variants, and their expression is enhanced by interferons (IFN). The recent
finding that PIC1/SUMO-1, a small ubiquitin-like protein, is covalently linked to the RanGAP1 protein of
the nuclear pore complex and also binds PML in yeast cells led us to determine whether PML is covalently
modified by PIC1/SUMO-1 and whether the same is
true for Sp100. We found an immune reaction of PML
and Sp100 proteins with a PIC1/SUMO-1-specific monoclonal antibody by immunoblotting when using
cell extracts prepared from stably transfected cells inducibly expressing one isoform of each protein as well
as from nontransfected cells. In contrast, both proteins
did not react when synthesized in vitro. Immunofluorescence staining showed that PIC1/SUMO-1 colocalized with Sp100 and PML in NDs except in mitotic
cells, in which PML and Sp100 are dissociated. Cell
fractionation and immunoblotting demonstrated that
PIC1/SUMO-1 immunoreactive Sp100 in IFN-treated and untreated cells was exclusively nuclear, whereas
nonmodified Sp100 was also found in the cytoplasm.
Taken together, these data strongly suggest covalent
modification of specific nuclear isoforms of Sp100 and
PML by PIC1/SUMO-1. This modification may play a regulatory role in ND structure, composition, and function.
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