Abstract
Posttranslational modifications of NF-κB, including acetylation and methylation, have emerged as an important regulatory mechanism for determining the duration and strength of NF-κB nuclear activity as well as its transcriptional output. Within the seven NF-κB family proteins, the RelA subunit of NF-κB is the most studied for its regulation by lysine acetylation and methylation. Acetylation or methylation at different lysine residues modulates distinct functions of NF-κB, including DNA-binding and transcription activity, protein stability, and its interaction with NF-κB modulators. Here, we describe the experimental methods to monitor the in vitro and in vivo acetylated or methylated forms of NF-κB. These methods include radiolabeling the acetyl or methyl groups and immunoblotting with pan- or site-specific acetyl- or methyl-lysine antibodies. Radiolabeling is useful in the initial validation of the modifications. Immunoblotting with antibodies provides a rapid and powerful approach to detect and analyze the functions of these modifications in vitro and in vivo.
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Acknowledgment
The work described in this article was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants (RO1DK085158 and R21DK093865-01) to L.F.C. and by funds from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Chen, J., Chen, LF. (2015). Methods to Detect NF-κB Acetylation and Methylation. In: May, M. (eds) NF-kappa B. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1280. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2422-6_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2422-6_24
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