Description
HMGB1 and HMGB2 are chromatin-associated nuclear proteins that play an important role in transcription and DNA recombination.
HMG proteins contain a highly acidic C-terminal domain as well as two evolutionarily conserved high mobility group (HMG) box motifs as their N-terminus. HMG boxes are found in numerous DNA binding proteins and transcription factors and allow HMG proteins to bind and to bend DNA. Specifically, HMGB1 is known as amphoterin, it mediates neurite outgrowth, and it binds receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). Recently, HMGB1 was unexpectedly identified as a cytokine through studies of endotoxemia and sepsis. The antibody recognizes human, rabbit, bovine, pig, rat, and mouse HMGB1 but not HMGB2. The specificity of the antibody was confirmed by western blot analysis. A synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acids (KPDAAKKGVVKAEK) of human HMGB1 was used as an immunogen. The antibody was purified by affinity chromatography.