Proteins containing any of these embedded in their sequence are known as HMG motif proteins.
HMG-box proteins are found in a variety of
eukaryotic organisms.
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 to HMG proteins are found in patients with
autoimmune 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,
HMGB1, has also been shown to have an extracellular activity as a
chemokine, attracting
neutrophils and mononuclear inflammatory cells to the infected
liver.[3] The high-mobility group protein such as HMO1 [4] alters DNA architecture by binding, bending and looping. Furthermore, these
HMG-boxDNA-binding proteins increase the flexibility of the
DNA upon binding.[5]
^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