Expression of chromosomal proteins HMG-14 and HMG-17 in transformed human cells.

The relation between cellular phenotype and expression of chromosomal high mobility group proteins 14 and 17 (HMG-14 and HMG-17) has been examined in human cell lineages. Quantitation of HMG-14 and HMG-17 mRNA in several human cell lines revealed differences in both the steady state mRNA level and in the ratio of HMG-14 to HMG-17 mRNA. Analysis of phenotypically distinct derivatives of human bronchial epithelial cells revealed small differences between both the steady state mRNA levels and the relative amount of these proteins among the clonal variants. The effect of myeloid differentiation on the mRNA level of HMG-14 and HMG-17 was examined in the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 following treatment with several granulocytic and monocytic differentiating agents. The ratio of HMG-17 mRNA to either HMG-14 or histone H4 mRNA varied among the cell phenotypes suggesting that phenotype switching may result in detectable alterations in the expression of the HMG-14 and HMG-17 genes. The data suggest that, although the ratio of HMG-14 to HMG-17 mRNA varies among human cell lines, these variations are relatively small.