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The dengue vector Aedes aegypti contains a functional high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein with a unique regulatory C-terminus

Overview of Ribeiro FS et al.

AuthorsRibeiro FS  de Abreu da Silva IC  Carneiro VC  Belgrano FS  Mohana-Borges R  de Andrade Rosa I  Benchimol M  Souza NR  Mesquita RD  Sorgine MH  Gazos-Lopes F  Vicentino AR  Wu W  de Moraes Maciel R  da Silva-Neto MA  Fantappié MR  
AffiliationPrograma de Biologia Molecular e Biotecnologia   Instituto de Bioquímica Médica   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro   Rio de Janeiro   Brasil.  
JournalPLoS One
Year 2012

Abstract


The mosquito Aedes aegypti can spread the dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses. Thus, the search for key molecules involved in the mosquito survival represents today a promising vector control strategy. High Mobility Group Box (HMGB) proteins are essential nuclear factors that maintain the high-order structure of chromatin, keeping eukaryotic cells viable. Outside the nucleus, secreted HMGB proteins could alert the innate immune system to foreign antigens and trigger the initiation of host defenses. In this work, we cloned and functionally characterized the HMGB1 protein from Aedes aegypti (AaHMGB1). The AaHMGB1 protein typically consists of two HMG-box DNA binding domains and an acidic C-terminus. Interestingly, AaHMGB1 contains a unique alanine/glutamine-rich (AQ-rich) C-terminal region that seems to be exclusive of dipteran HMGB proteins. AaHMGB1 is localized to the cell nucleus, mainly associated with heterochromatin. Circular dichroism analyses of AaHMGB1 or the C-terminal truncated proteins revealed α-helical structures. We showed that AaHMGB1 can effectively bind and change the topology of DNA, and that the AQ-rich and the C-terminal acidic regions can modulate its ability to promote DNA supercoiling, as well as its preference to bind supercoiled DNA. AaHMGB1 is phosphorylated by PKA and PKC, but not by CK2. Importantly, phosphorylation of AaHMGB1 by PKA or PKC completely abolishes its DNA bending activity. Thus, our study shows that a functional HMGB1 protein occurs in Aedes aegypt and we provide the first description of a HMGB1 protein containing an AQ-rich regulatory C-terminus.