Sera from JRA patients contain antibodies against a defined epitope in chromosomal protein HMG-17

Biological Functions of HMGN Chromosomal Proteins

Chromatin plays a key role in regulating gene expression programs necessary for the orderly progress of development and for preventing changes in cell identity that can lead to disease. The high mobility group N (HMGN) is a family of nucleosome binding proteins that preferentially binds to chromatin regulatory sites including enhancers and promoters. HMGN proteins are ubiquitously expressed in all vertebrate cells potentially affecting chromatin function and epigenetic regulation in multiple cell types. Here, we review studies aimed at elucidating the biological function of HMGN proteins, focusing on their possible role in vertebrate development and the etiology of disease. The data indicate that changes in HMGN levels lead to cell type-specific phenotypes, suggesting that HMGN optimize epigenetic processes necessary for maintaining cell identity and for proper execution of specific cellular functions. This manuscript contains tables that can be used as a comprehensive resource for all the English written manuscripts describing research aimed at elucidating the biological function of the HMGN protein family.

Rabbit anti-HMG-17 antibodies recognize similar epitopes on the HMG-17 molecule as lupus autoantibodies. Relation with histone H1 defined epitopes

HMG-17 is a nucleosomal protein which is an immune target of autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other autoimmune diseases. Autoantibody production in SLE is believed to result from autoantigen specific immune stimulation and subsequently, it is expected that antigenic determinants recognized by SLE autoantibodies and induced antibodies by immunization are quite similar. To examine this issue, rabbits were immunized with purified HMG-17. The produced antiserum showed cross reactivity on blots and in inhibition ELISA with histone H1, even after its affinity purification with immobilized HMG-17. Finally, purification of the antiserum over H1 absorbed on nitrocellulose membrane produced specific anti-HMG-17 antibodies in the supernatant and anti-HMG-17/H1 antibodies that were bound to H1. SLE sera positive for HMG-17 had also cross reactivity with H1, and following the same procedure as before we received HMG-17 specific SLE autoantibodies and anti-HMG-17/H1 autoantibodies. Using the multipin epitope mapping technology, 19 overlapping 15-mer HMG-17 peptides and six 15-peptides, corresponding to known epitopes of histone H1, were synthesized. Four major epitopes were identified on the HMG-17 molecule, reactive with induced anti-HMG-17 antibodies, and these were the same as major autoepitopes In SLE. The sequence 25-51 of HMG-17, part of its DNA-binding domain, was recognized by the anti-HMG-17/H1 antibodies that were bound to H1. These antibodies recognized also defined epitopes of H1. Our results show that SLE autoantibodies can be directed against the same or similar epitopes as do IgGs evoked during the active immunization of animals, and provide additional evidence that autosensitization with an autoantigen might be operative. The possibility that the same or similar epitopes are found on different molecules (in this study HMG-17 and H1) supports the fact that there are rules by which nature selects the most dominant immunodeterminant to a given protein, which often represents functional or structural sites in the autoantigen.

Antibodies against a peptide sequence located in the linker region of the HMG-1/2 box domains in sera from patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To extend our work on the mapping of B cell epitopes on nucleosomal high mobility group (HMG) proteins in the sera of patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA).

METHODS

Seventy-seven pauciarticular-onset JRA serum samples from antinuclear antibody (ANA)-positive patients and 42 polyarticular-onset JRA patient sera found to react with HMG-2 by immunoblotting were used in this study. To identify B cell epitopes on HMG-2, recombinant HMG-2 protein fragments were used in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and in competition ELISA experiments with a set of overlapping synthetic peptides. Fine epitope mapping was achieved by oligopeptide synthesis, followed by immunoblotting.

RESULTS

Pauciarticular, but not polyarticular, JRA patient sera were found to recognize a lysine-rich major epitope (KKGKKKDP), which is located in the linker region of the HMG box domains of the HMG-2 nonhistone chromosomal protein. No significant immunoreactions were observed in sera from ANA-negative JRA patients and in sera from children with nonrheumatic diseases, indicating that this epitope seems to be specific for pauciarticular-onset JRA.

CONCLUSION

In addition to our previous finding that JRA sera will react with a defined epitope on HMG-17, pauciarticular JRA patient sera were also found to recognize a defined epitope on the HMG-2 protein, thus suggesting the importance of this epitope in the etiology of JRA.

The epitopes for natural polyreactive antibodies are rich in proline

"Natural" polyreactive antibodies, which bind in a nonspecific manner to a range of biological molecules both of self- and nonself- origin, are normal constituents of serum and are a significant part of the immune repertoire in many species, including humans. Autoantibodies to sTNF-R (the 55-kDa extracellular domain of the human receptor to tumor necrosis factor alpha) were affinity purified from normal human sera using immobilized sTNF-R. The isolated anti-sTNF-R IgG bound both native and denatured forms of the receptor with low affinity. These antibodies also bound to different proteins and therefore are considered to be polyreactive. We used the anti-sTNF-R antibodies and purified polyreactive antibodies to mannose-specific lectin from garlic (Allium sativum) for screening a peptide library displayed on filamentous M13 phage. After the biopanning procedure, we failed to find epitopes with a consensus sequence; however, we found that proline is the most frequent amino acid in the selected phagotopes. Proline is commonly present at solvent-exposed sites in proteins, such as loops, turns, N-terminal first turn of helix, and random coils. Thus, structures containing proline can serve as conformation-dependent common "public" epitopes for polyreactive natural antibodies. Our findings may be important for understanding polyreactivity in general and for the significance of polyreactive natural antibodies in immunological homeostasis.