Reduced vacuolar ATPase protects mice from Friend virus infection - an unintended but instructive effect in Hif-2afl mice.

During acute viral infections, innate immune cells invade inflamed tissues and face hypoxic areas. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) adapt cellular responses towards these conditions. We wanted to investigate the effects of a loss of HIF-2α in macrophages during acute Friend murine leukemia retrovirus (FV) infection in C57BL/6 mice using a Cre/loxP system.

Myoglobin Protects Breast Cancer Cells Due to Its ROS and NO Scavenging Properties.

Myoglobin (MB) is an oxygen-binding protein usually found in cardiac myocytes and skeletal muscle fibers. It may function as a temporary storage and transport protein for O but could also have scavenging capacity for reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. In addition, MB has recently been identified as a hallmark in luminal breast cancer and was shown to be robustly induced under hypoxia.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α is crucial for proper brain development.

Sufficient tissue oxygenation is required for regular brain function; thus oxygen supply must be tightly regulated to avoid hypoxia and irreversible cell damage. If hypoxia occurs the transcription factor complex hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) will accumulate and coordinate adaptation of cells to hypoxia. However, even under atmospheric O conditions stabilized HIF-2α protein was found in brains of adult mice.

Albumin-derived perfluorocarbon-based artificial oxygen carriers can avoid hypoxic tissue damage in massive hemodilution.

Artificial blood for clinical use is not yet available therefore, we previously developed artificial oxygen carriers (capsules) and showed their functionality in vitro and biocompatibility in vivo. Herein, we assessed the functionality of the capsules in vivo in a normovolemic hemodilution rat-model. We stepwise exchanged the blood of male Wistar-rats with medium either in the presence of capsules (treatment) or in their absence (control).

Things get broken: the hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylases in ischemic heart disease.

A major challenge in developing new treatments for myocardial infarction (MI) is an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of hypoxic tissue damage and the activation of endogenous adaptive programs to hypoxia. Due to the relevance of oxygen in metabolism, molecular adaptation to hypoxia driven by the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) and the HIF-regulating prolyl hydroxylase domain enzymes (PHDs) is pivotal for the survival of cells and tissue under hypoxia. The heart under ischemic stress will extensively rely on these mechanisms of endogenous cardiac protection until hypoxia becomes too severe.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α is Essential for Macrophage-mediated Erythroblast Proliferation in Acute Friend Retrovirus Infection.

Macrophages are the frontline of defence against foreign microorganisms, including bacteria, parasites, and viruses. During acute viral infection, macrophages must invade the inflamed tissue toward low oxygen concentrations, where genetic cellular responses depend on hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF). In the study reported here we investigated the role of HIF-1α in macrophage function during acute retroviral infection.