HMGA is a family of
high mobility group
High-Mobility Group or HMG is a group of chromosomal proteins that are involved in the regulation of DNA-dependent processes such as
transcription, replication, recombination, and DNA repair.
Families
The HMG proteins are subdivided into 3 super ...
proteins characterized by an
AT-hook
The second AT-hook of HMGA1 (black ribbon) bound to the minor-groove of AT-rich DNA. The amino-acid side chains and nucleotides have been hidden.
The AT-hook is a DNA-binding motif present in many proteins, including the high mobility group (HM ...
. They code for a "small, nonhistone, chromatin-associated protein that has no intrinsic transcriptional activity but can modulate transcription by altering the chromatin architecture".
Mammals have two orthologs: HMGA1 and HMGA2.
Genomic distribution
In mouse embryonic stem cells it has been demonstrated that both HMGA proteins binds uniformly to the DNA due to their
AT-hook
The second AT-hook of HMGA1 (black ribbon) bound to the minor-groove of AT-rich DNA. The amino-acid side chains and nucleotides have been hidden.
The AT-hook is a DNA-binding motif present in many proteins, including the high mobility group (HM ...
domains, with a slight preference for AT-rich regions/
Such regions tend to lack coding genes, an observation that argues against a direct role in transcriptional control and in agreement with previous studies, suggest that these proteins have a structural role in the chromatin, similar to
histone
In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes. Nucleosomes in turn are wr ...
.
Association with human traits
Variations in HMGA2 to have a moderate association with adult height.
See also
*
HMGA1
High-mobility group protein HMG-I/HMG-Y is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''HMGA1'' gene.
Function
This gene encodes a non-histone chromatin protein involved in many cellular processes, including regulation of inducible gene transc ...
*
HMGA2
High-mobility group AT-hook 2, also known as HMGA2, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the ''HMGA2'' gene.
Function
This gene encodes a protein that belongs to the non-histone chromosomal high-mobility group (HMG) protein family. HMG p ...
References
External links
*
Transcription factors
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