Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40815652›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

HMGB1 deforms nucleosomal DNA to generate a dynamic chromatin environment counteracting the effects of linker histone.

Hayden S Saunders, Un Seng Chio, Camille M Moore, Vijay Ramani, Yifan Cheng, Geeta J Narlikar

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Hayden S SaundersDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7582-3031
Un Seng ChioDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5295-2690
Camille M MooreDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3324-789X
Vijay RamaniDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3345-5960
Yifan ChengDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9535-0369
Geeta J NarlikarDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1920-0147

Funding

Measuring the lifetime and mechanical stability of phase-separated heterochromatin domainsR35GM127020 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI GEETA J NARLIKAR · 2018 to 2026
$7.3M
Modulation and functional characterization of protein condensation in chromatin organizationU01DK127421 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI HUANG, BO, NARLIKAR, GEETA J · 2020 to 2024
$5.4M
SINGLE-CELL CHEMICAL TRANSCRIPTOMIC DISSECTION OF AN ESSENTIAL TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR NETWORKDP2HG012442 · NHGRI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI RAMANI, VIJAY · 2021 to 2024
$2.6M
Advancing cryo-EM technology to address difficult biological questionsR35GM140847 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Yifan Cheng · 2021 to 2026
$2.1M
Acquisition of an electron microscope for high-resolution single particle cryo-EMS10OD021741 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI CHENG, YIFAN · 2016 to 2016
$2.0M
Linux cluster for near atomic resolution single particle cryo-EMS10OD020054 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI CHENG, YIFAN · 2015 to 2015
$456k
Molecular mechanisms of the ACF chromatin remodeling complexF32GM137463 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI CHIO, UN SENG · 2020 to 2022
$201k
NHGRI NIH HHS DP2 HG012442NIDDK NIH HHS U01 DK127421NIGMS NIH HHS F32 GM137463NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM127020NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM140847NIH HHS S10 OD020054NIH HHS S10 OD021741
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The essential architectural protein HMGB1 increases accessibility of nucleosomal DNA and counteracts the effects of linker histone H1. However, HMGB1 is less abundant than H1 and binds nucleosomes more weakly, raising the question of how it competes with H1. Here, we find that HMGB1 increases nucleosomal DNA accessibility without displacing H1. HMGB1 also increases the dynamics of condensed, H1-bound chromatin. Unexpectedly, cryo-electron microscopy structures show HMGB1 bound at internal locations on nucleosomes and local DNA distortion. These sites are away from where H1 binds, explaining how HMGB1 and H1 can co-occupy a nucleosome. Our findings suggest a model where HMGB1 counteracts the effects of H1 by distorting nucleosomal DNA and disrupting interactions of the H1 carboxyl-terminal tail with DNA. Compared to mutually exclusive binding, co-occupancy by HMGB1 and H1 allows greater diversity in dynamic chromatin states. More generally, these results explain how architectural proteins acting at the nucleosome scale can have large effects on chromatin dynamics at the mesoscale.

Indexed as

ChromatinDNAHistonesHMGB1 ProteinNucleosomesAnimalsCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansModels, MolecularNucleic Acid ConformationProtein BindingChromatinDNAHistonesHMGB1 ProteinNucleosomes

Identifiers

PMID40815652
PMCPMC12356256

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.