Grönholm, J., Ungureanu, D., Vanhatupa, S., Rämet, M., Silvennoinen, O. (2010). Sumoylation of Drosophila Transcription Factor STAT92E.  J. Innate Immun. 2(6): 618--624.

FBrf0212067

Research paper

STAT92E is an essential transcription factor in Drosophila melanogaster for the development of several organs and the immune system. The JAK/STAT pathway employs different evolutionary conserved regulatory mechanisms to control biological processes. Numerous transcription factors in both mammals and invertebrates have been shown to be either activated or inhibited by a covalent modification with a small ubiquitin-like modifier (Sumo). Here, we show that Drosophila STAT92E is modified by Sumo at a single lysine residue 187 in S2 cells. Mutation of Lys187 increases the transcriptional activity of STAT92E, thus suggesting that sumoylation of STAT92E has a repressive role in the regulation of the JAK/STAT pathway in Drosophila melanogaster.