Elevation of serum high‐mobility group box 1 protein during granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor‐induced peripheral blood stem cell mobilisation

Summary High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a non‐histone protein involved in maintaining the architecture of chromatin. HMGB1 also acts extracellularly as a cytokine, in processes such as inflammation, cell migration and stem cell recruitment. The involvement of HMGB1 in granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF)‐induced mobilisation of haematopoietic stem cells was investigated in 21 healthy donors. G‐CSF treatment significantly elevated serum HMGB1 levels, which increased from 1·16 ± 0·86 ng/ml, before treatment, to 31·1 ± 5·99 ng/ml, after treatment. These findings suggest HMGB1 may play a role during the mobilisation of stem cells from the bone marrow into the systemic circulation.