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Protein / target

High mobility group protein B1

Encoded byHMGB1P09429Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinical-stage
Therapeutic maturity
1
Clinical candidates
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
High-Quality Ligand
11
Research papers

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Calcium-dependent protein kinase regulator

Strongest disease association

Alopecia

Via encoding gene HMGB1 · Genetic evidence · score 0.67

Therapeutic position

Clinically advancing target

Research activity

Emerging research

11 papers · latest 2024

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Multifunctional redox sensitive protein with various roles in different cellular compartments.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Multifunctional redox sensitive protein with various roles in different cellular compartments. In the nucleus is one of the major chromatin-associated non-histone proteins and acts as a DNA chaperone involved in replication, transcription, chromatin remodeling, V(D)J recombination, DNA repair and genome stability (PubMed:33147444). Proposed to be an universal biosensor for nucleic acids. Promotes host inflammatory response to sterile and infectious signals and is involved in the coordination and integration of innate and adaptive immune responses. In the cytoplasm functions as a sensor and/or chaperone for immunogenic nucleic acids implicating the activation of TLR9-mediated immune responses, and mediates autophagy. Acts as a danger-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule that amplifies immune responses during tissue injury (PubMed:27362237). Released to the extracellular environment can bind DNA, nucleosomes, IL-1 beta, CXCL12, AGER isoform 2/sRAGE, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), and activates cells through engagement of multiple surface receptors (PubMed:34743181). In the extracellular compartment fully reduced HMGB1 (released by necrosis) acts as a chemokine, disulfide HMGB1 (actively secreted) as a cytokine, and sulfonyl HMGB1 (released from apoptotic cells) promotes immunological tolerance (PubMed:23446148, PubMed:23519706, PubMed:23994764, PubMed:25048472). Has proangiogdenic activity (By similarity). May be involved in platelet activation (By similarity). Binds to phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamide (By similarity). Bound to RAGE mediates signaling for neuronal outgrowth (By similarity). May play a role in accumulation of expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) proteins such as huntingtin (HTT) or TBP (PubMed:23303669, PubMed:25549101)

Subcellular location

NucleusChromosomeCytoplasmSecretedCell membraneEndosomeEndoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartmentEndoplasmic reticulum
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (109)

Gene Ontology

  • Calphav-beta3 integrin-HMGB1 complex
  • Ccell surface
  • Ccondensed chromosome
  • Cearly endosome
  • Cendoplasmic reticulum
  • Cendoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment
  • Cextracellular region
  • Cextracellular space
  • Cficolin-1-rich granule lumen
  • Cneuron projection
  • Cnucleoplasm
  • Cnucleus

215 aa · 25 kDa

Biological roles

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Cell migrationGOImmune signallingUniProt · GOTranscriptional regulationUniProt · GOKinase signallingGO
View supporting evidence

Cell migration

  • ·dendritic cell chemotaxis
  • ·endothelial cell chemotaxis
  • ·negative regulation of blood vessel endothelial cell migration
  • ·positive regulation of blood vessel endothelial cell migration

Immune signalling

  • ·Multifunctional redox sensitive protein with various roles in different cellular compart…
  • ·cytokine activity
  • ·activation of innate immune response
  • ·inflammatory response

Transcriptional regulation

  • ·Multifunctional redox sensitive protein with various roles in different cellular compart…
  • ·transcription repressor complex
  • ·DNA-binding transcription factor binding
  • ·RNA polymerase II-specific DNA-binding transcription factor binding

Kinase signalling

  • ·calcium-dependent protein kinase regulator activity
  • ·protein kinase activator activity

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene HMGB1

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene HMGB1that encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Alopecia
0.67Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.41

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
0.64Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.38

Smoking initiation
0.61Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.37

Metabolic Syndrome
0.56Moderately supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.33

Microcephaly
0.49Limited support

Genetic literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.37

View evidence synthesis (5)
AlopeciaModerately supported
0.67
agreement 0.550.79
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.41 · 1 independent evidence family

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Moderately supported
0.64
agreement 0.500.78
Genetic81%Literature19%

Open Targets aggregate 0.38 · 2 independent evidence families

Smoking initiationModerately supported
0.61
agreement 0.490.73
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.37 · 1 independent evidence family

Metabolic SyndromeModerately supported
0.56
agreement 0.420.69
Genetic94%Literature6%

Open Targets aggregate 0.33 · 2 independent evidence families

MicrocephalyLimited support
0.49
agreement 0.340.65
Genetic literature98%Literature2%

Open Targets aggregate 0.37 · 2 independent evidence families

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Neurodevelopmental Disorders0.44
Alopecia0.41
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 20.38
Microcephaly0.37
Smoking initiation0.37
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes0.37
Neurodegenerative Diseases0.37
Metabolic Syndrome0.33

Drug development

1 compounds recorded · 1 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines.

View all recorded compounds (1)
CD24FCPhase 3

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (high-quality ligand) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf and go cc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (database ubiquitination and half-life data) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Other modalitiesStrong

Advanced Clinical support this modality.

View underlying tractability evidence (7)
SM · High-Quality LigandAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high confPR · Database UbiquitinationPR · Half-life DataPR · Small Molecule BinderOC · Advanced Clinical

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Research activity

11 papers · to 2024

Papers linked directly to this protein. This is the protein's own literature — descriptor-derived papers are kept separate below.

Most cited

Andersson U · Annual review of immunology · 2011

Yang H · Frontiers in immunology · 2020

Denning NL · Frontiers in immunology · 2019

Zhu M · Frontiers in immunology · 2021

Recent

Europe PMC papers linked directly to this protein.