The p97-UFD1L-NPL4 Protein Complex Mediates Cytokine-Induced IκBα Proteolysis

IκBα is an inhibitor of NF-κB, a family of transcription factors that transactivate genes related to inflammation. Upon inflammatory stimuli, IκBα is rapidly degraded via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. While it is very clear that the SCFβ-TRCP ubiquitin ligase ubiquitinates IκBα upon stimulation, little is known about the postubiquitinational events of IκBα proteolysis. Here, we report that p97, a valosin-containing protein (also called VCP), plays an essential role in the postubiquitinational regulation of IκBα turnover after tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) or interleukin-1β (IL-1β) treatment. The ATPase activity of p97 is essential for its role in IκBα proteolysis. Moreover, we found that UFD1L and NPL4, two cofactors of p97, assist p97 to control the postubiquitinational regulation of IκBα. The p97-UFD1L-NPL4 protein complex specifically associates with ubiquitinated IκBα via the interactions between p97 and the SCFβ-TRCP ubiquitin ligase and between the polyubiquitin binding domain of UFD1L and polyubiquitinated IκBα. Furthermore, we observed that the postubiquitinational regulation of IκBα by the p97-UFD1L-NPL4 complex is important for NF-κB activation under stimuli.