[HMGB1-a as potential target for therapy of hematological malignancies]

HMGB1 is a widely existing DNA-binding nuclear protein, participating in gene transcription, damage repair, recombination and stabilizing nucleosome construction. Under injury, infection and chemotherapy, HMGB1 can be released by nature immunocyte and necrosis cells as a DAMP, exerting pleiotropic biological effects by binding to RAGE, TLR and CXCL12, which lead to activation of CDC42, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), c-IAP and NF-κB, thereby promoting angiogenesis, unlimited replicative potential, tissue invasion and metastasis. And it also involves in immune response by regulating immunocyte function as a immunocyte warning signal. Scholars have detected that HMGB1 is over expressed and released following chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cells of hematological malignancies, promoting malignant cell replication, decreasing therapeutic effect. Recently, endogenous HMGB1 has been implied to be an intrinsic modulator of autophagy and referenced to resistant to apoptosis in malignant hematosis cells. In contrast, through suppression of HMGB1 expression, tumor cell apoptosis and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity were increased, which will be a new strategy for the treatment of hematological malignancies. In this article, the basic characteristics of HMGB1, including structure and biological features, and HMGB1 and tumors such as lymphoma, myeloproliferative neoplasms and acute myeloid leukemia are reviewed.