Effect of pH on Interactions between DNA and High-Mobility Group Protein HMG1

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Fluorescence quenching was used to test the effect of pH changes on the binding of high-mobility group protein 1 (HMG1) to double-stranded and single-stranded DNA. At pH 7.5, the binding constant K for double-stranded DNA was 3 x 10(6) M-1, the binding site size n was 13, and the cooperativity factor q was 78, while at pH 6 the corresponding values were K = 12 x 10(6) M-1, n = 54, and q = 770. For the binding of HMG1 to single-stranded DNA at pH 7.5, the values were K = 2 x 10(6) M-1, n = 7, and q = 60, whereas at pH 6 they were K = 3 x 10(6) M-1, n = 14, and q = 440. Denaturation of HMG1 by oxidation of its sulfhydryl groups substantially affected the binding parameters. At pH 6, double-stranded DNA bound oxidized HMG1 with K = 6 x 10(6) M-1, n = 16, and q = 200, and single-stranded DNA bound with K = 3 x 10(6) M-1, n = 7, and q = 180. The sensitivity of the double-stranded DNA-HMG1 interaction to pH, along with an earlier report of a sharp optimum of binding at 140 mM NaCl, reveals a potential for in vivo regulation of the strength and mode of HMG1 binding by DNA through the action of analogous factors in the cellular milieu.