SUMO1/sentrin/SMT3 specific peptidase 2 modulates target molecules and its corresponding functions

Small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMOylation) is a reversible post-translational modification, which plays important roles in numerous biological processes. SUMO could be covalently attached to target proteins in an isopeptide bond manner that occurs via a lysine ε-amino group on the target proteins and the glycine on SUMO C-terminus. This covalent binding could affect the subcellular localization and stability of target proteins. SUMO modification can be reversed by members of the Sentrin/SUMO-specific proteases (SENPs) family, which are highly evolutionarily conserved from yeast to human. SENP2, a member of the SENPs family, mainly plays a physiological function in the nucleus. SENP2 can promote maturity of the SUMO and deSUMOylate for single-SUMO modified or poly-SUMO modified proteins. SENP2 can affect the related biological processes through its peptidase activity or the amino terminal transcriptional repression domain. It plays important roles by inhibiting or activating some molecular functions. Therefore, the research achievements of SENP2 are reviewed in order to understand its related functions and the underlying molecular mechanisms and provide a clue for future research on SENP2.