High-mobility group box 1 is overexpressed in cervical carcinoma and promotes cell invasion and migration in vitro

The present study aimed to investigate the expression of high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) in cervical carcinoma and explore whether or not HMGB1 promotes cervical carcinoma cell invasion and migration in vitro and the related mechanism. HMGB1, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), E-cadherin and N-cadherin protein expression was analyzed in tissues from 48 cervical carcinomas, 51 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and tissues from 24 healthy controls using immunohistochemistry. HeLa cells were treated with different concentrations of HMGB1 (0, 10, 100, and 1,000 ng/ml) at different time-points (0, 24, 48 and 72 h), and changes in cell morphology and biological behaviors were observed. Changes in the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, NF-κB and the inhibitor κB (IκB) in the treated cells were detected by western blot analysis and real-time PCR. HMGB1 expression exhibited a gradually increasing trend in the normal cervical tissues, CIN and cervical cancer, and there was statistical significance between the three groups (P