Distinct regulation of Ubc13 functions by the two ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme variants Mms2 and Uev1A

Ubc13, a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (Ubc), requires the presence of a Ubc variant (Uev) for polyubiquitination. Uevs, although resembling Ubc in sequence and structure, lack the active site cysteine residue and are catalytically inactive. The yeast Uev (Mms2) incites noncanonical Lys63-linked polyubiquitination by Ubc13, whereas the increased diversity of Uevs in higher eukaryotes suggests an unexpected complication in ubiquitination. In this study, we demonstrate that divergent activities of mammalian Ubc13 rely on its pairing with either of two Uevs, Uev1A or Mms2. Structurally, we demonstrate that Mms2 and Uev1A differentially modulate the length of Ubc13-mediated Lys63-linked polyubiquitin chains. Functionally, we describe that Ubc13–Mms2 is required for DNA damage repair but not nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation, whereas Ubc13–Uev1A is involved in NF-κB activation but not DNA repair. Our finding suggests a novel regulatory mechanism in which different Uevs direct Ubcs to diverse cellular processes through physical interaction and alternative polyubiquitination

Regulation of MBD1-mediated transcriptional repression by SUMO and PIAS proteins

In mammalian cells, DNA methylation is associated with heritable and stable gene repression, mediated in part by methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) proteins that recruit corepressors to modify chromatin. MBD1 protein, a member of the MBD family, forms a complex with SETDB1 histone methylase to silence transcription at target promoters by methylation of lysine 9 of histone H3. How MBD1-mediated transcriptional repression is regulated is currently unknown. Here we show that MBD1 is a target for sumoylation by PIAS1 (Protein Inhibitors of Activated STAT 1) and PIAS3 E3 SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier)-ligases, at two conserved lysine residues within the C-terminus of MBD1. Although sumoylated MBD1 binds to methylated DNA, it does not incorporate into a complex with SETDB1 and does not efficiently repress transcription of a target gene, p53BP2, in HeLa cells. Our data suggest that transcriptional silencing by MBD1 is regulated by a PIAS-mediated conjugation of SUMO1, which antagonizes the formation of a repressive complex with SETDB1