Decreased expression of the high-mobility group protein T160 by antisense RNA impairs the growth of mouse fibroblasts

The T160 protein belongs to the HMG-1 box protein family and preferentially binds to non-B-DNA conformations with no sequence specificity. Its exact role has yet to be defined, though it seems to participate in processes involving DNA, such as replication, transcription and recombination. We have used an antisense RNA strategy to investigate its role in cell growth and proliferation. T160 expression is strongly suppressed by stable introduction of an antisense construct into NIH3T3 cells, and this decrease is accompanied by substantial changes in the growth properties of the stable transfectants. Impaired growth of T160- cells was mainly related to two mechanisms: i) decreased rates of cell proliferation at normal serum concentration; and ii) occurrence of cell death by apoptosis at low serum concentration, as demonstrated by both flow cytometry and microscopy. The finding that decreased T160 availability affects cell proliferation, provides further evidence of its involvement in a basic cell function, such as DNA replication.