SIN3 is a transcriptional corepressor that acts as a scaffold for a histone deacetylase (HDAC) complex. The SIN3 complex regulates various biological processes, including organ development, cell proliferation, and energy metabolism. Little is known, however, about the regulation of SIN3 itself. There are two major isoforms of Drosophila SIN3, 187 and 220, which are differentially expressed. Intrigued by the developmentally timed exchange of SIN3 isoforms, we examined whether SIN3 187 controls the fate of the 220 counterpart. Here, we show that in developing tissue, there is interplay between SIN3 isoforms: when SIN3 187 protein levels increase, SIN3 220 protein decreases concomitantly. SIN3 187 has a dual effect on SIN3 220. Expression of 187 leads to reduced 220 transcript, while also increasing the turnover of SIN3 220 protein by the proteasome. These data support the presence of a novel, inter-isoform-dependent mechanism that regulates the amount of SIN3 protein, and potentially the level of specific SIN3 complexes, during distinct developmental stages.Normal cell function requires precise and coordinated regulation of abundance, localization, and interaction of numerous proteins and associated factors. This systematic regulation is brought about by several synchronized processes that govern the production, subcellular location, and timely degradation of proteins. Key among these processes is the ubiquitin-proteasome system, which eliminates specific proteins at determined time points (1). Disturbance of the ubiquitin-proteasome system has serious consequences in cellular function that can directly cause cell death (2). This is especially true for controlling the steady-state levels of master regulatory proteins that regulate diverse transcriptional networks. Specific examples include the histone-modifying enzymes, which govern chromatin organization and thus regulate gene networks. Dysregulation of histone-modifying enzymes can be disastrous for the cell, because it not only leads to aberrant gene expression, but also affects genome stability (3).The SIN3 HDAC 2 complex, evolutionarily conserved from yeast to mammals, is one such important histone-modifying complex (4, 5). The protein SIN3 serves as a scaffold for the assembly of this complex (5). SIN3 is a master transcriptional regulator that, when deleted or mutated, causes embryonic lethality in Drosophila and mice (6 -9). Previous work from our laboratory showed that depletion of Drosophila SIN3 affects several biological processes, resulting in severe developmental defects, increased sensitivity to oxidative stress, and reduced life span (10 -12). Although many of the gene networks and biological processes regulated by SIN3 are known, the regulation of the SIN3 protein itself is poorly understood.In Drosophila, a single Sin3A gene gives rise to multiple SIN3 isoforms, SIN3 187, SIN3 190, and SIN3 220. These isoforms vary only at the C terminus due to the presence of unique C-terminal exons, form distinct HDAC complexes, are functionally non-redundant, ...