RIP140/NRIP1 (receptor-interacting protein 140) functions as a corepressor of nuclear receptors. It plays an important role in the transcriptional control of energy metabolism and female fertility. RIP140 contains four distinct repression domains (RD1-RD4), and the repressive activity of RIP140 involves complex mechanisms. The function of both RD1 and RD2 is linked to recruitment of histone deacetylases and C-terminal binding protein, respectively, but the mechanism of repression for RD3 and RD4 has remained elusive. Because covalent modification by small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMO-1, -2, and -3; SUMOylation) is often associated with transcriptional repression, we studied whether SUMOylation is involved in the repressive activity of RIP140. We show that two conserved lysines, Lys 756 and Lys 1154 , located in RD3 and RD4, respectively, are subject to reversible SUMOylation, with SUMO-1 being more efficiently conjugated than SUMO-2. Interestingly, mutations of the RIP140 SUMOylation sites compromised the transcription repressor function of RIP140 and blunted its capacity to repress estrogen receptor ␣-dependent transcription. Conjugation of SUMO-1 also influenced the subnuclear distribution pattern of RIP140. In sum, our demonstration that the function of RIP140 repression domains 3 and 4 can be modulated by reversible SUMO modification thus adds a novel level to the regulation of RIP140 activity, which may have ramifications in the control of gene networks exerted by RIP140.RIP140/NRIP1 (receptor-interacting protein 140) is a transcriptional corepressor for nuclear receptors. It appears to be capable of interacting with several, maybe most, members of the nuclear receptor (NR) 2 superfamily, including estrogen receptor (ER), estrogen-related receptors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, glucocorticoid receptors, and thyroid receptors (1-5). RIP140 has an important role in the control of gene networks regulating female fertility and energy homeostasis. Studies with mice lacking RIP140 indicate that the corepressor is necessary for oocyte release during ovulation and for maintaining normal fat accumulation (6 -9). The corepressor function of RIP140 is mediated by four distinct repression domains (RD1-RD4) that are conserved in vertebrates (10, 11). The repression by RD1 involves recruitment of histone deacetylases (HDACs) (11, 12), and RD2 harbors interaction motifs for C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) that in turn may also recruit HDACs (10, 11, 13). However, the function of individual RDs and the role of HDAC activity in the context of whole RIP140 molecule appear to be complex. The HDAC enzymatic activity has been reported to be both dispensable and indispensable for the repressive activity of full-length RIP140 (10 -12, 14). RIP140 binds to nuclear receptors through its LXXLL motifs (NR boxes), and because several NR coactivators also possess and utilize the NR boxes, RIP140 may compete with the coactivators of the same binding sites on the ligandbound receptors (2, 9). RIP140 has recently be...