The mouse small ubiquitin-like modifier-2 (SUMO-2) inhibits interleukin-12 (IL-12) production in mature dendritic cells by blocking the translocation of the p65 subunit of NFκB into the nucleus

► In this study, we demonstrated that SUMO-2 directly modified IκBα. ► Further, we examined the effect of SUMO-2 on the phenotypic changes of mature dendritic cells. ► We found that IL-12 secretion from mature dendritic cells can be down-regulated by SUMO-2 overexpression. ► Also, SUMO-2 overexpressing dendritic cells shift naïve CD4+ T cells to Th2 type response in vitro. ► The results of this study may be applied to the development of novel gene therapy strategies for tolerance induction during allogeneic responses.