Ubiquitously expressed transcript is a novel interacting protein of protein inhibitor of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 2

Protein inhibitor of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (PIAS2) is a member of the PIAS protein family. This protein family modulates the activity of several transcription factors and acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase in the sumoylation pathway. To improve understanding of the physiological roles of PIAS2, the current study used a yeast two-hybrid system to screen mouse stem cell cDNA libraries for proteins that interact with PIAS2. The screening identified an interaction between PIAS2 and ubiquitously expressed transcript (UXT). UXT, also termed androgen receptor trapped clone-27, is an α-class prefoldin-type chaperone that acts as a coregulator for various transcription factors, including nuclear factor-κB and androgen receptor (AR). A direct interaction between PIAS2 and UXT was confirmed by direct yeast two-hybrid analysis. In vitro evidence of the association of UXT with PIAS2 was obtained by co-immunoprecipitation. Colocalization between PIAS2 and UXT was identified in the nucleus and cytoplasm of HEK 293T and human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. The results of the current study suggested that UXT is a binding protein of PIAS2, and interaction between PIAS2 and UXT may be important for the transcriptional activation of AR.