Gene

Neuroscience

Biology

Sepsis

Endocrinology

Receptor

Glycation

Rage (emotion)

Environmental health

Immunology

Genetics

Organic chemistry

HMGB1

Inflammation

Population

Internal medicine

Medicine

Chemistry

Stepwise regression

High-mobility group

Group (periodic table)

White blood cell

Metabolism

<h2>Abstract</h2> High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a nonhistone chromatin-associated protein, is implicated as a mediator of both infectious and non-infectious inflammatory conditions. Clinical research on this protein in humans just has begun; serum HMGB1 was reported to be elevated in a small number of critically ill patients suffering from sepsis. However, the kinetics, distribution and factors associated with circulating HMGB1 are unknown in a general population. In this study, we examined these issues in a large population of healthy subjects. Fasting blood samples were obtained from 626 subjects (237 males and 389 females). HMGB1 levels showed a skewed distribution with a mean of 1.65 ± 0.04 ng/ml. Multiple stepwise regression analyses found that white blood cell (WBC) counts (<i>P</i> = .016) and the soluble form of receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE; <i>P</i> < .001, inversely), which is also known to be a receptor for HMGB1, were independently associated with HMGB1 levels. We demonstrated for the first time that circulating HMGB1 levels were inversely associated with sRAGE levels in a general population. Because RAGE is involved in HMGB1 signaling, our present study suggests that sRAGE may capture and eliminate circulating HMGB1 in humans.

Factors associated with serum high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) levels in a general population