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25 sources retrieved · Most recent: April 2026 · Index updated 15 days ago
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HMGB2
high mobility group box 2
Chromosome 4 · 4q34.1
NCBI Gene: 3148Ensembl: ENSG00000164104.13HGNC: HGNC:5000UniProt: P26583
197PubMed Papers
20Diseases
0Drugs
0Pathogenic Variants
FUNCTIONAL ROLE
Highly ConstrainedTranscription Factor
RESEARCH IMPACT
Trending
DATA QUALITY
✓ Experimental GO Evidence✓ Swiss-Prot Reviewed
nucleusDNA binding, bendingprotein-containing complexcellular response to lipopolysaccharideneoplasmhepatocellular carcinomagliomacancer
✦AI Summary

HMGB2 is a multifunctional chr4-associated protein that operates through DNA-bending and transcriptional mechanisms across multiple physiological contexts. In the nucleus, HMGB2 functions as a non-histone chr4 protein that binds DNA with preference for non-canonical structures, enhancing DNA flexibility and promoting transcription factor binding 1. The protein regulates cellular phenotype switching through chr4 remodeling; mechanical confinement increases HMGB2 expression, which prolonging contact time between HMGB2 and chr4, driving melanoma cells toward invasive phenotypes while reducing proliferation 1. Beyond cancer, HMGB2 promotes cellular rejuvenation through SOX5-mediated transcriptional activation, with therapeutic applications in osteoarthritis treatment 2. In pulmonary arterial hypertension, HMGB2 promotes pathological smooth muscle cell proliferation via RAGE/FAK-mediated Hippo/YAP pathway suppression, with elevated serum HMGB2 levels correlating with disease severity and mortality 3. HMGB2 also suppresses anti-tumor immunity in hepatocellular carcinoma by impairing CD8+ T cell oxidative phosphorylation and interferon-γ responses, contributing to T cell exhaustion and anti-PD-1 resistance 4. Additionally, HMGB2 participates in lipophagy-mediated cholesterol efflux in macrophages 5. Meta-analytic evidence demonstrates that elevated HMGB2 expression correlates with poor overall survival across multiple cancer types, particularly digestive cancers 6. In hepatocellular carcinoma, NAT10-mediated ac4C modifications enhance HMGB2 mRNA translation through eEF2 binding, promoting tumor progression 7.

Sources cited
1
HMGB2 is a DNA-bending protein that mediates mechanical confinement-induced chromatin remodeling and phenotype switching between proliferative and invasive states in melanoma
PMID: 40866703
2
SOX5 upregulates HMGB2 expression to promote cellular rejuvenation and alleviate osteoarthritis in aged mice
PMID: 37832549
3
HMGB2 promotes pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation via RAGE/FAK-mediated Hippo/YAP signaling suppression, and elevated serum HMGB2 predicts disease severity and mortality in pulmonary arterial hypertension
PMID: 38572649
4
HMGB2 impairs CD8+ T cell oxidative phosphorylation and inactivates interferon-γ response, promoting T cell exhaustion and resistance to anti-PD-1 treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma
PMID: 40315321
5
HMGB2 is associated with lipophagy machinery and cholesterol efflux in macrophage foam cells
PMID: 33590792
6
Meta-analysis of 17 studies shows high HMGB2 expression is significantly associated with shorter overall survival across cancer types, especially digestive cancers
PMID: 40164660
7
NAT10-mediated ac4C modification of HMGB2 mRNA enhances HMGB2 translation via eEF2 binding, promoting hepatocellular carcinoma growth and metastasis
PMID: 39030964
Disease Associationsⓘ20
neoplasmOpen Targets
0.11Weak
hepatocellular carcinomaOpen Targets
0.11Weak
gliomaOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
cancerOpen Targets
0.10Suggestive
esophageal squamous cell carcinomaOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
achalasia-alacrima syndromeOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
azoospermiaOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
breast cancerOpen Targets
0.09Suggestive
IGA glomerulonephritisOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
colorectal carcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
posterior cortical atrophyOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
lung adenocarcinomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
osteosarcomaOpen Targets
0.08Suggestive
cervical cancerOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
strokeOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
cirrhosis of liverOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
Hepatic fibrosisOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
partial chromosome Y deletionOpen Targets
0.07Suggestive
astrocytomaOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
46,XX testicular disorder of sex developmentOpen Targets
0.06Suggestive
Pathogenic Variants
No pathogenic variants reported on ClinVar for this gene.
View on ClinVar ↗
Related Genes
SETProtein interaction91%ANP32AProtein interaction84%NCLProtein interaction84%GZMAProtein interaction75%DFFBProtein interaction73%PKNOX1Protein interaction71%
Tissue Expression6 tissues
Bone Marrow
100%
Brain
7%
Ovary
6%
Lung
6%
Heart
5%
Liver
1%
Gene Interaction Network
Click a node to explore
HMGB2SETANP32ANCLGZMADFFBPKNOX1
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
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AlphaFoldAI-predicted · UniProt P26583
View on AlphaFold ↗
Constraintⓘ
LOEUFⓘ
0.28Highly Constrained
pLIⓘ
1.00Intolerant
Observed/Expected LoF0.09 [0.04–0.28]
RankingsWhere HMGB2 stands among ~20K protein-coding genes
  • #2,149of 20,598
    Most Researched197 · top quartile
  • #1,014of 17,882
    Most Constrained (LOEUF)0.28 · top 10%
Genes detectedHMGB2
Sources retrieved25 papers
Response time—
📄 Sources
25▼
1
Mechanical confinement governs phenotypic plasticity in melanoma.
PMID: 40866703
Nature · 2025
1.00
2
Genome-wide CRISPR activation screening in senescent cells reveals SOX5 as a driver and therapeutic target of rejuvenation.
PMID: 37832549
Cell Stem Cell · 2023
0.90
3
HMGB2 Release Promotes Pulmonary Hypertension and Predicts Severity and Mortality of Patients With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.
PMID: 38572649
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol · 2024
0.80
4
Structure and Functions of HMGB3 Protein.
PMID: 39062899
Int J Mol Sci · 2024
0.72
5
Targeting HMGB2 acts as dual immunomodulator by bolstering CD8
PMID: 40315321
Sci Adv · 2025
0.70