Liu Yi, Ma Xiaofang, Chen Xuhong, Chen Jinsheng, Yuan Li, Li Lili, Bai Yaowu, Liu Xiaozhi
North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei 063210, P.R. China.
Department of Anesthesiology, Tangshan Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Tangshan, Hebei 063000, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2020 Mar;19(3):1855-1863. doi: 10.3892/etm.2020.8416. Epub 2020 Jan 3.
The modification of proteins by small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO), known as SUMOylation, regulates biological function by changing protein transcription and translation. During the estrous cycle the endometrium undergoes continual change to processes including cell proliferation, secretion and exfoliation and these changes are regulated by the levels of ovarian hormones. Increasing the expression of SUMO family members has previously been shown to promote proliferation and invasion of endometrial cancer cells. However, limited research has been carried out into the expression and function of SUMO in the mammalian endometrium. In the present study, the level and localization of SUMO-associated proteins throughout the natural estrous cycle in the mouse uterus was determined using immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis. The association between the spatiotemporal expression of these SUMO modified proteins and SENPs in endometrium and the concentration of ovarian hormones during estrous cycle was revealed. The present study clarified the role of SUMOylation in maintenance of normal estrous cycling and may have important significance in the study of hormone-dependent endometrial diseases.
小泛素样修饰物（SUMO）对蛋白质的修饰作用，即SUMO化修饰，通过改变蛋白质的转录和翻译来调节生物学功能。在发情周期中，子宫内膜会经历包括细胞增殖、分泌和脱落在内的持续变化，这些变化受卵巢激素水平的调节。此前研究表明，增加SUMO家族成员的表达可促进子宫内膜癌细胞的增殖和侵袭。然而，关于SUMO在哺乳动物子宫内膜中的表达和功能的研究还很有限。在本研究中，通过免疫组织化学染色和蛋白质印迹分析，确定了小鼠子宫在整个自然发情周期中SUMO相关蛋白的水平和定位。揭示了这些SUMO修饰蛋白和去SUMO化酶（SENPs）在子宫内膜中的时空表达与发情周期中卵巢激素浓度之间的关联。本研究阐明了SUMO化修饰在维持正常发情周期中的作用，可能对激素依赖性子宫内膜疾病的研究具有重要意义。
