Hypoxia promotes glycogen accumulation through hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-mediated induction of glycogen synthase 1.

When oxygen becomes limiting, cells reduce mitochondrial respiration and increase ATP production through anaerobic fermentation of glucose. The Hypoxia Inducible Factors (HIFs) play a key role in this metabolic shift by regulating the transcription of key enzymes of glucose metabolism. Here we show that oxygen regulates the expression of the muscle glycogen synthase (GYS1).

Development of a new noncytopathic Semliki Forest virus vector providing high expression levels and stability.

Alphavirus vectors express high levels of recombinant proteins in mammalian cells, but their cytopathic nature makes this expression transient. In order to generate a Semliki Forest virus (SFV) noncytopathic vector we introduced mutations previously described to turn Sindbis virus noncytopathic into a conserved position in an SFV vector expressing LacZ. Interestingly, mutant P718T in replicase nsp2 subunit was able to replicate in only a small percentage of BHK cells, producing beta-gal-expressing colonies without selection.

Analysis of HIF-prolyl hydroxylases binding to substrates.

Hypoxia inducible transcription factors (HIF) are mainly regulated by a group of proline hydroxylases (EGLNs) that, in the presence of oxygen, target HIF for degradation. HIFalpha contains two independent oxygen degradation domains (N-ODD and C-ODD) that are substrates for these enzymes. In this work, we employed the yeast two-hybrid assay to study the sequence determinants required for the binding of EGLN1 and 3 to HIF1alpha in a cellular context.

Identification of a functional hypoxia-responsive element that regulates the expression of the egl nine homologue 3 (egln3/phd3) gene.

Low oxygen levels induce an adaptive response in cells through the activation of HIFs (hypoxia-inducible factors). These transcription factors are mainly regulated by a group of proline hydroxylases that, in the presence of oxygen, target HIF for degradation. The expression of two such enzymes, EGLN1 [EGL nine homologous protein 1, where EGL stands for egg laying defective (Caenorhabditis elegans gene)] and EGLN3, is induced by hypoxia through a negative feedback loop, and we have demonstrated recently that hypoxic induction of EGLN expression is HIF-dependent.

Specific oncolytic effect of a new hypoxia-inducible factor-dependent replicative adenovirus on von Hippel-Lindau-defective renal cell carcinomas.

Mutations in the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene are responsible for a hereditary cancer syndrome characterized by high susceptibility to hemangioblastomas of the retina and central nervous system, pheochromocytomas, and renal cell carcinomas. In agreement with its role as a tumor suppressor, the vast majority of spontaneous clear cell carcinomas of the kidney present loss of heterozygosity at the VHL locus. Recently, it has been shown that VHL works as the substrate recognition component of an E3 ubiquitination complex that targets the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) for proteosomal degradation.

The von Hippel Lindau/hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway regulates the transcription of the HIF-proline hydroxylase genes in response to low oxygen.

Most of the genes induced by hypoxia are regulated by a family of transcription factors termed hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF). Under normoxic conditions, HIFalpha proteins are very unstable due to hydroxylation by a recently described family of proline hydroxylases termed EGL-Nine homologs (EGLN). Upon hydroxylation, HIFalpha is recognized by the product of the tumor suppressor vhl and targeted for proteosomal degradation.

Inhibiting expression of specific genes in mammalian cells with 5' end-mutated U1 small nuclear RNAs targeted to terminal exons of pre-mRNA.

Reducing or eliminating expression of a given gene is likely to require multiple methods to ensure coverage of all of the genes in a given mammalian cell. We and others [Furth, P. A.