Stimulation of transcription accompanying relaxation of chromatin structure in cells overexpressing high mobility group 1 protein.

We developed murine C-127 cell lines that stationarily overexpress high mobility group (HMG) proteins 1 and 2 by transfecting them with the bovine papilloma virus plasmid carrying their respective cDNA sequences. Using these cell lines, we examined the effects of these HMG proteins on the modulation of chromatin structure that accompanied transcription. The levels of HMG1 mRNA and protein in cells overexpressing HMG1 protein were enhanced about 7- and 3-fold, respectively, in comparison with control cells, whereas those in cells overexpressing HMG2 protein were enhanced about 17- and 9-fold. The expression of reporter genes transfected into the cells was enhanced approximately 2-fold in cells overexpressing HMG1, but not HMG2, in comparison with those in control cells, irrespective of the sources of the genes and promoters. The minichromosome derived from the reporter plasmid in cells overexpressing HMG1 protein was more susceptible to micrococcal nuclease digestion than those in cells overexpressing HMG2 protein and control cells. The enhanced accessibility to micrococcal nuclease was not restricted to the expressing gene and promoter but involved the entire minichromosome, suggesting that the enhancement of gene expression resulted from changes in the condensation of the entire minichromosomal region by HMG1 protein. Minichromosomes in cells overexpressing HMG contained enhanced amounts of the respective HMG proteins and simultaneously reduced amounts of histone H1s. These results suggest that HMG1 and -2 proteins have different functions in the modulation of chromatin structure, and that HMG1 protein may sustain the structure of the respective gene to ensure that its activity as a template is expressed fully. These observations on the modulation of chromatin structure accompanying gene transcription in cells overexpressing HMG protein may provide important information on the function of these proteins.