Mechanical stretch induces translocation of high-mobility group box 1 protein in THP-1 cells

AIM: To investigate the translocation of high-mobility group box 1 protein(HMGB1) in THP-1 cells induced by mechanical stretch. METHODS: The vector that expressed the fusion protein of HMGB1 and enhanced green fluorescent protein(EGFP) was constructed. The cDNA of HMGB1 and EGFP was subcloned into hemagglutinin(HA)-tagged vector pcDNA3-HA by two-step method. THP-1 cells were transfected with pcDNA3-HMGB1-EGFP and exposed to cyclic mechanical stretch at 20 % elongation using Flexercell 4000T cell stretching unit. The translocation of HMGB1 in THP-1 cells was observed under fluorescence microscope. RESULTS: The recombinant plasmid was verified by enzyme digestion. The green fluorescence accumulated in the nuclei of the cells, indicating that the fusion protein was highly expressed in THP-1 cells and localized in the nuclei. Eighteen hours after mechanical stretch, the green fluorescence was observed in the cytoplasm. At the same time, the green fluorescence was still localized in the nuclei of the control cells treated without mechanical stretch. CONCLUSION: The HMGB1-EGFP fusion protein is successfully and effectively expressed in THP-1 cells. Mechanical stretch induces the translocation of HMGB1 protein from nucleus to cytoplasm.