Abstract
HMGA (high mobility group A) (HMGA1 and HMGA2) are small non-histone proteins that can bind DNA and modify chromatin state, thus modulating the accessibility of regulatory factors to the DNA and contributing to the overall panorama of gene expression tuning. In general, they are abundantly expressed during embryogenesis, but are downregulated in the adult differentiated tissues. In the present review, we summarize some aspects of their role during development, also dealing with relevant studies that have shed light on their functioning in cell biology and with emerging possible involvement of HMGA1 and HMGA2 in evolutionary biology.
Highlights
HMGA proteins were initially isolated, together with other HMGs, by a biochemical purification procedure that allowed enrichment of small nuclear proteins from chromatin [1]
Hmga2 is expressed in the early development of the mouse central nervous system (CNS); localized mRNAs are first detected at E9.5, but its expression is already declining at E14.5 and the following stages [34,44]
These results are consistent with the idea that let-7 and Hmga2 are part of a temporally regulated program that controls the timing of cortical layering, as well as the neurogenic potential of neural precursor cells (NPCs), by post-transcriptional downregulation of Hmga2 driven by let-7 (Figure 3B)
Summary
HMGA proteins were initially isolated, together with other HMGs, by a biochemical purification procedure that allowed enrichment of small nuclear proteins from chromatin [1]. HMGA proteins are small, non-histone nuclear proteins that can bind DNA in the minor groove, and modify the chromatin conformational state and its accessibility by several regulatory factors, involved in the modulation of gene expression. In addition to their localization and associated nuclear functions, these proteins may translocate into the mitochondria and bind to the mitochondrial. The activity of HMGA proteins is tuned by post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, and other modifications at specific residues (Figure 1). Deeply with the involvement of HMGA in tumors and other pathologies [19,22,24,25,28,29,30,31]
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