The acidic tail of HMGB1 regulates its secondary structure and conformational flexibility: A circular dichroism and molecular dynamics simulation study

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule that triggers the progression of several pro-inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, by inducing signals upon interaction with the receptors such as the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) and toll-like receptors (TLRs). The acidic C-terminal tail of HMGB1 is an intrinsically disordered region of the protein which is known to determine the interaction of HMGB1 to DNA and histones. This study characterizes its structural properties using a combination of circular dichroism (CD) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The full-length and tail-less forms of HMGB1 were compared to rationalise the role of the acidic tail in maintaining the stability of the entire structure of HMGB1 in atomistic detail. Consistent with experimental data, the acidic tail was predicted to adopt an extended conformation that allows it to make a range of hydrogen-bonding and electrostatic interactions with the box-like domains that stabilize the overall structure of HMGB1. Absence of the acidic tail was predicted to increase structural fluctuations of all amino acids, leading to changes in secondary structure from α-helical to more hydrophilic turns along with increased exposure of multiple amino acids to the surrounding solvent. These structural changes reveal the intrinsic conformational dynamics of HMGB1 that are likely to affect the accessibility of its receptors.