Wiley, FEBS Letters, 19(586), p. 3522-3528
DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.08.012
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ARHGAP21 is a 217kDa RhoGAP protein shown to modulate cell migration through the control of Cdc42 and FAK activities. In the present work a 250kDa-ARHGAP21 was identified by mass spectrometry. This modified form is differentially expressed among cell lines and human primary cells. Co-immunoprecipitations and in vitro SUMOylation confirmed ARHGAP21 specific modification by SUMO2/3 and mapped the SUMOylation site to ARHGAP21 lysine K1443. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that ARHGAP21 co-localizes with SUMO2/3 in the cytoplasm and membrane compartments. Interestingly, our results suggest that ARHGAP21 SUMOylation may be related to cell proliferation. Therefore, SUMOylation of ARHGAP21 may represent a way of guiding its function.