High-Mobility Group or HMG is a group of

chromosomal A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most importa ...

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s that are involved in the regulation of DNA-dependent processes such as transcription, replication, recombination, and

DNA repair DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. A weakened capacity for DNA repair is a risk factor for the development of cancer. DNA is cons ...

History and name

HMG proteins were originally isolated from

mammalian A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

cells, and named according to their electrophoretic mobility in

polyacrylamide Polyacrylamide (abbreviated as PAM or pAAM) is a polymer with the formula (-CH2CHCONH2-). It has a linear-chain structure. PAM is highly water-absorbent, forming a soft gel when hydrated. In 2008, an estimated 750,000,000 kg were produced, ...

gels.

Families

The HMG proteins are subdivided into 3 superfamilies each containing a characteristic functional domain: * HMGA – contains an AT-hook domain ** HMGA1 ** HMGA2 * HMGB – contains a HMG-box domain **

HMGB1 High mobility group box 1 protein, also known as high-mobility group protein 1 (HMG-1) and amphoterin, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''HMGB1'' gene. HMG-1 belongs to the high mobility group and contains a HMG-box domain. Funct ...

** HMGB2 ** HMGB3 ** HMGB4 * HMGN – contains a nucleosomal binding domain ** HMGN1 ** HMGN2 ** HMGN3 ** HMGN4 ** HMGN5 Proteins containing any of the above domains embedded in their sequence are known as HMG-motif proteins. HMG-box proteins are found in a variety of

eukaryotic The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

organisms.

Other families with HMG-box domain

SOX gene family ''SOX'' genes ('' SRY''-related HMG-box genes) encode a family of transcription factors that bind to the minor groove in DNA, and belong to a super-family of genes characterized by a homologous sequence called the HMG-box (for high mobility ...

Sex-Determining Region Y Protein Sex-determining region Y protein (SRY), or testis-determining factor (TDF), is a DNA-binding protein (also known as gene-regulatory protein/transcription factor) encoded by the ''SRY'' gene that is responsible for the initiation of male sex ...

** SOX1, SOX2, etc. * TCF/LEF family (T cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor family) ** LEF1 ( Lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1) ** TCF7 (TCF-1) ** TCF7L1 (TCF-3) ** TCF7L2 (TCF-4)

Function

HMG proteins are thought to play a significant role in various human disorders. Disruptions and rearrangements in the genes coding for some of the HMG proteins are associated with some common benign tumors.

Antibodies An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as bacteria and viruses, including those that caus ...

to HMG proteins are found in patients with

autoimmune In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an " autoimmune disease" ...

diseases. The SRY gene on the Y Chromosome, responsible for male sexual differentiation, contains an HMG-Box domain. A member of the HMG family of proteins,

, has also been shown to have an extracellular activity as a

chemokine Chemokines (), or chemotactic cytokines, are a family of small cytokines or signaling proteins secreted by cells that induce directional movement of leukocytes, as well as other cell types, including endothelial and epithelial cells. In addit ...

, attracting

neutrophils Neutrophils are a type of phagocytic white blood cell and part of innate immunity. More specifically, they form the most abundant type of granulocytes and make up 40% to 70% of all white blood cells in humans. Their functions vary in different ...

and mononuclear inflammatory cells to the infected

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

. The high-mobility group protein such as HMO1 alters DNA architecture by binding, bending and looping. Furthermore, these HMG-box

DNA-binding proteins DNA-binding proteins are proteins that have DNA-binding domains and thus have a specific or general affinity for DNA#Base pairing, single- or double-stranded DNA. Sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins generally interact with the major groove ...

increase the flexibility of the

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

upon binding. In mammalian cells, the HMG non-histone proteins can modulate the activity of major DNA repair pathways including

base excision repair Base excision repair (BER) is a cellular mechanism, studied in the fields of biochemistry and genetics, that repairs damaged DNA throughout the cell cycle. It is responsible primarily for removing small, non-helix-distorting base lesions from t ...

mismatch repair DNA mismatch repair (MMR) is a system for recognizing and repairing erroneous insertion, deletion, and mis-incorporation of nucleobase, bases that can arise during DNA replication and Genetic recombination, recombination, as well as DNA repair, ...

nucleotide excision repair Nucleotide excision repair is a DNA repair mechanism. DNA damage occurs constantly because of chemicals (e.g. Intercalation (biochemistry), intercalating agents), radiation and other mutagens. Three excision repair pathways exist to repair single ...

and double-strand break repair.Reeves R. High mobility group (HMG) proteins: Modulators of chromatin structure and DNA repair in mammalian cells. DNA Repair (Amst). 2015 Dec;36:122-136. doi: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2015.09.015. Epub 2015 Sep 16. PMID 26411874

References

External links