High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a highly conserved non-histone nuclear protein that plays multiple roles in cellular processes, including DNA assembly, transcriptional regulation, and inflammation. It is widely expressed in mammalian cells and functions both intracellularly and extracellularly. Intracellularly, HMGB1 interacts with transcription factors to stabilize nucleosome structure, promote DNA repair, and regulate gene expression. Extracellularly, HMGB1 acts as a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule, actively released by immune cells or passively released upon cell injury or necrosis. It triggers inflammatory responses by binding to receptors such as TLR2, TLR4, and RAGE, making it a key mediator of sepsis, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. Due to its dual roles in homeostasis and pathology, HMGB1 has become a focus of biomedical research, particularly in understanding immune regulation and developing therapeutic strategies.
The HMGB1 adenovirus is a recombinant viral vector designed to deliver the HMGB1 gene to target cells. Adenoviral vectors are favored for their high transduction efficiency, broad tropism, and ability to infect both dividing and non-dividing cells. HMGB1 adenovirus is widely used in in vitro and in vivo experiments to study the role of HMGB1 in inflammation, cancer progression, and tissue repair. For example, researchers have used it to explore the impact of HMGB1 on the regulation of the tumor microenvironment or its contribution to ischemic injury. Furthermore, this vector can be modified to express mutant or tagged versions of HMGB1 (e.g., GFP fusion) to track protein localization.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known to mediate angiogenic effects in endothelial cells. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The studies here show that LPS can induce the secretion of high-mobility group protein box 1 (HMGB1) from human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPMECs). Knockdown and overexpression of HMGB1 by adenoviral vectors effectively inhibited and promoted LPS-induced HPMEC migration and capillary-like tube formation, respectively. On the other hand, HMGB1 had an inhibitory effect on LPS-inhibited platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (CD31) and p120 catenin (p120) expressions; knockdown of HMGB1 reversed this effect. These results suggest that LPS and HMGB1 have a functional synergistic effect in angiogenesis. Mechanistically, the physical interaction of LPS with HMGB1 mediated the dissociation of p120, β-catenin, and γ-catenin from vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) without affecting VE-cadherin expression. The synergistic effect of LPS and HMGB1 was closely related to the ERK/P38/Src signaling pathway, as reflected by the reduced migration and capillary-like tube formation in HPMECs treated with signaling pathway inhibitors. Together, these findings reveal a novel mechanism by which LPS and HMGB1 synergistically regulate the angiogenic behavior of endothelial cells.
To detect the release of HMGB1 in HPMECs regulated by LPS, the researchers tested adenoviral vectors expressing HMGB1 (Ad-HMGB1) and shHMGB1 (Ad-shHMGB1) in HPMECs. As shown in Figures 1A-D, these adenoviral vectors effectively regulated the expression of HMGB1, indicating that they can be used for gain-of-function and loss-of-function assays. Next, the researchers sought to explore the effects of HMGB1 on LPS-mediated epithelial cell migration and capillary-like tubule formation, two processes that are key to the initiation of angiogenesis. Wound healing assays showed that knockdown of HMGB1 by Ad-shHMGB1 significantly reduced LPS-induced HPMEC migration compared with the Ad-control group (Figures 1E and F), while overexpression of HMGB1 by Ad-HMGB1 led to a significant increase in the extent of HPMEC migration, regardless of the presence or absence of LPS (Figures 1E and F). Likewise, Ad-HMGB1 and Ad-shHMGB1 significantly increased and decreased the number of capillary-like microvascular structures in the absence or presence of LPS stimulation, respectively (Figures 1 G and H). These data indicate that HMGB1 is essential and sufficient to regulate the angiogenic behavior of LPS-stimulated endothelial cells, suggesting that LPS and HMGB1 have a functional synergistic role in angiogenesis.
Figure 1. Individual and combined effects of LPS and HMGB1 on HPMECs migration and capillary-like tube formation. (Liu Z, et al., 2017)
Customer Reviews
Highly efficient
The HMGB1 adenovirus induced strong inflammatory signaling in our immune assays. The viral quality was top-notch, and delivery was efficient. Perfect for studying sepsis or autoimmune diseases.
United Kingdom
07/01/2023
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