Int J Biol Sci 2022; 18(11):4414-4431. doi:10.7150/ijbs.72952 This issue Cite
Review
1. Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, PR China.
2. Cancer Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, PR China.
3. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen 518033, Guangdong, China.
4. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, First School of Clinical Medicine, University of Southern Medical, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, China.
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
High mobility group A1 (HMGA1) is a nonhistone chromatin structural protein characterized by no transcriptional activity. It mainly plays a regulatory role by modifying the structure of DNA. A large number of studies have confirmed that HMGA1 regulates genes related to tumours in the reproductive system, digestive system, urinary system and haematopoietic system. HMGA1 is rare in adult cells and increases in highly proliferative cells such as embryos. After being stimulated by external factors, it will produce effects through the Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/Akt, Hippo and MEK/ERK pathways. In addition, HMGA1 also affects the ageing, apoptosis, autophagy and chemotherapy resistance of cancer cells, which are linked to tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms of HMGA1 in cancer progression and discuss the potential clinical application of targeted HMGA1 therapy, indicating that targeted HMGA1 is of great significance in the diagnosis and treatment of malignancy.
Keywords: High mobility group A1, Malignancies, Mechanisms, Chemoresistance, Targeting treatment