High mobility group box 1 protein as a potential drug target for infection- and injury-elicited inflammation.
In response to infection or injury, a ubiquitous nucleosomal protein, HMGB1 is secreted actively by innate immune cells, and / or released passively by injured/damaged cells. Subsequently, extracellular HMGB1 alerts, recruits, and activates various innate immune cells to sustain a rigorous inflammatory response. A growing number of HMGB1 inhibitors ranging from neutralizing antibodies, endogenous hormones, to medicinal herb-derived small molecule HMGB1 inhibitors (such as nicotine, glycyrrhizin, tanshinones, and EGCG) are proven protective against lethal infection and ischemic injury. Here we review emerging evidence that support extracellular HMGB1 as a proinflammatory alarmin(g) danger signal, and discuss a wide array of HMGB1 inhibitors as potential therapeutic agents for sepsis and ischemic injury.
Zhu
Shu
S
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA.
Li
Wei
W
Ward
Mary F
MF
Sama
Andrew E
AE
Wang
Haichao
H
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D024243:HMGB1 Protein / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D007511:Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications*
D024243:HMGB1 Protein