SUMOylation dynamically conjugates SUMO molecules to the lysine residue of a substrate protein, which depends on the physiological state of the cell and the attached SUMO isoforms. A prominent role of SUMOylation in molecular pathways is to govern the cellular death process. Herein, we summarize the association between SUMOylation modification events and four types of cellular death processes: apoptosis, autophagy, senescence and pyroptosis. SUMOylation positively or negatively regulates a certain cellular death pattern depending on specific conditions including the attached SUMO isoforms, disease types, substrate proteins and cell context. Moreover, we also discuss the possible role of SUMOylation in ferroptosis and propose a potential role of the SUMOylated GPX4 in the regulation of ferroptosis. Mapping the exact SUMOylation network with cellular death contributes to develop novel SUMOylation-targeting disease therapeutic strategies.

SUMOylation 动态地将 SUMO 分子与底物蛋白的赖氨酸残基结合，这取决于细胞的生理状态和附着的 SUMO 异构体。SUMOylation 在分子途径中的一个突出作用是控制细胞死亡过程。在此，我们总结了 SUMO 修饰事件与四种类型的细胞死亡过程之间的关联：细胞凋亡、自噬、衰老和细胞焦亡。SUMO 化根据特定条件（包括附着的 SUMO 异构体、疾病类型、底物蛋白和细胞环境）正向或负向调节某种细胞死亡模式。此外，我们还讨论了 SUMO 化在铁死亡中的可能作用，并提出了 SUMO 化 GPX4 在调节铁死亡中的潜在作用。