Further, SUMOylation by SUMO‐2/3, but not SUMO‐1, was partially suppressed by pifithrin‐alpha (a pharmacological inhibitor of p53), supporting a role of p53 in SUMOylation by SUMO‐2/3.63 Taken together, these results supplied the first evidence of SUMOylation in AKI and suggested that SUMOylation might play a cytoprotective role in kidney tubular cells. This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and acute kidney injury.