HMGA proteins: flexibility finds a nuclear niche?

Abstract

The mammalian HMGA family of chromatin proteins possesses an unusual constellation of physical, biochemical, and biological characteristics that distinguish them from other nuclear proteins. Principal among these is the fact that, unlike other proteins, they possess little detectable secondary structure prior to interactions with other macromolecules (DNA, RNA, proteins). Upon binding to substrates, however, the HMGA proteins undergo specific disordered-to-ordered structural transitions and also induce alterations in the structure of the substrates themselves. Their intrinsic structural flexibility, combined with other features such as the control of their substrate interactions via complex patterns of in vivo biochemical modifications, allows the HMGA proteins to actively participate in a wide variety of nuclear activities including DNA replication, DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, control of gene transcription, and regulation of mRNA processing.Key words: chromatin, gene activation, high performance liquid chromatography, HMG-I(Y), mass spectrometry, transcription.