Sumoylation regulates K48-linked polyubiquitination and degradation of RIG-I and MDA5. (A) Effects of knockdown of TRIM38 on stabilities of RIG-I, MDA5, and VISA. HEK293 cells were transfected with the indicated plasmids for 36 h, followed by cycloheximide (CHX; 100 µg/ml) treatment for the indicated times before immunoblotting analysis. (B and C) Effect of sumoylation of RIG-I and MDA5 on their K48-linked polyubiquitination in mammalian overexpression system. HEK293 cells were transfected with the indicated plasmids for 24 h, followed by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting analysis. (D and E) Effects of knockdown of TRIM38 on K48-linked polyubiquitination of RIG-I and MDA5. HEK293 cells were transfected with the indicated plasmids for 36 h, and then left uninfected or infected with SeV (D) or EMCV (E) for the indicated times before immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting analysis. All the experiments were repeated three times.