Posttranslational S-nitrosylation modification regulates HMGB1 secretion and promotes its proinflammatory and neurodegenerative effects

Nuclear protein high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) can be actively secreted by activated immune cells and functions as a proinflammatory cytokine. Regulation of HMGB1 secretion is critical for treatment of HMGB1-mediated inflammation and related diseases. This study demonstrates that S-nitrosylation (SNO; the covalent binding of nitric oxide [NO] to cysteine thiols) by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-derived NO at Cys106 is essential and sufficient for inflammation-elicited HMGB1 secretion. iNOS deletion or inhibition or Cys106Ser mutation prevents lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and/or poly(I:C)-elicited HMGB1 secretion. NO donors induce SNO of HMGB1 and reproduce inflammogen-triggered HMGB1 secretion. SNO of HMGB1 promotes its proinflammatory and neurodegenerative effects. Intranigral HMGB1 injection induces chronic microglial activation, dopaminergic neurodegeneration, and locomotor deficits, the key features of Parkinson’s disease (PD), in wild-type, but not Mac1 (CD11b/CD18)-deficient, mice. This study indicates pivotal roles for SNO modification in HMGB1 secretion and HMGB1-Mac1 interaction for inflammatory neurodegeneration, identifying a mechanistic basis for PD development.