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Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) directly activates the transcription of metabolic enzymes in response to hypoxia to reprogram cellular metabolism required for tumor cell proliferation. Through analyzing glutamate-linked aminotransferases, we here identified glutamate pyruvate transaminase 2 ( GPT2 ) as a direct HIF-2 target gene in human glioblastoma (GBM). Hypoxia upregulated GPT2 mRNA and protein levels in GBM cells, which required HIF-2 but not HIF-1. HIF-2 directly bound to the hypoxia response element of the human GPT2 gene, leading to its transcription in hypoxic GBM cells. GPT2 located at the nucleus and mitochondria and reduced α-ketoglutarate levels in GBM cells. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of GPT2 decreased GBM cell growth and migration under normoxia and hypoxia. Knockout of GPT2 inhibited GBM tumor growth in mice. Collectively, these findings uncover a hypoxia-inducible aminotransferase GPT2 required for GBM progression.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) mediate metabolic reprogramming in response to hypoxia. However, the role of HIFs in branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism remains unknown. Here we show that hypoxia upregulates mRNA and protein levels of the BCAA transporter LAT1 and the BCAA metabolic enzyme BCAT1, but not their paralogs LAT2-4 and BCAT2, in human glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines as well as primary GBM cells. Hypoxia-induced LAT1 protein upregulation is mediated by both HIF-1 and HIF-2 in GBM cells. Although both HIF-1α and HIF-2α directly bind to the hypoxia response element at the first intron of the human BCAT1 gene, HIF-1α is exclusively responsible for hypoxia-induced BCAT1 expression in GBM cells. Knockout of HIF-1α and HIF-2α significantly reduces glutamate labeling from BCAAs in GBM cells under hypoxia, which provides functional evidence for HIF-mediated reprogramming of BCAA metabolism. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of BCAT1 inhibits GBM cell growth under hypoxia. Together, these findings uncover a previously unrecognized HIF-dependent metabolic pathway that increases GBM cell growth under conditions of hypoxic stress.

Recruitment of RNA polymerase II to hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) target genes under normoxia is a prerequisite for HIF-mediated transactivation. However, the underlying mechanism of this recruitment remains unknown. Here we report that chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4 (CHD4) physically interacts with α and β subunits of HIF1 and HIF2 and enhances HIF-driven transcriptional programs to promote breast cancer progression. Loss of HIF1/2α abolished CHD4-mediated breast tumor growth in mice. In breast cancer cells under normoxia, CHD4 enrichment at HIF target gene promoters increased RNA polymerase II loading through p300. Hypoxia further promoted CHD4 binding to the chromatin via HIF1/2α, where CHD4 in turn enhanced recruitment of HIF1α, leading to HIF target gene transcription. CHD4 was upregulated and correlated with HIF target gene expression in human breast tumors; upregulation of CHD4 and other known HIF coactivators in human breast tumors was mutually exclusive. Furthermore, CHD4 was associated with poor overall survival of patients with breast cancer. Collectively, these findings reveal a new fundamental mechanism of HIF regulation in breast cancer, which has clinical relevance. SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies CHD4 as a HIF coactivator and elucidates the fundamental mechanism underlying CHD4-mediated HIF transactivation in breast tumors., (©2020 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Hypoxia induces a vast array of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) in breast cancer cells, but their biological functions remain largely unknown. Here, we identified a hitherto uncharacterized hypoxia-induced lncRNA RAB11B-AS1 in breast cancer cells. RAB11B-AS1 is a natural lncRNA upregulated in human breast cancer and its expression is induced by hypoxia-inducible factor 2 (HIF2), but not HIF1, in response to hypoxia. RAB11B-AS1 enhanced the expression of angiogenic factors including VEGFA and ANGPTL4 in hypoxic breast cancer cells by increasing recruitment of RNA polymerase II. In line with increased angiogenic factors, conditioned media from RAB11B-AS1-overexpressing breast cancer cells promoted tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro . Gain- and loss-of-function studies revealed that RAB11B-AS1 increased breast cancer cell migration and invasion in vitro and promoted tumor angiogenesis and breast cancer distant metastasis without affecting primary tumor growth in mice. Taken together, these findings uncover a fundamental mechanism of hypoxia-induced tumor angiogenesis and breast cancer metastasis. SIGNIFICANCE: This study reveals the molecular mechanism by which the lncRNA RAB11B-AS1 regulates hypoxia-induced angiogenesis and breast cancer metastasis, and provides new insights into the functional interaction between a lncRNA and tumor microenvironment. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/80/5/964/F1.large.jpg., (©2020 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Altered epigenetic reprogramming contributes to breast cancer progression and metastasis. How the epigenetic reader mediates breast cancer progression remains poorly understood. Here, we showed that the epigenetic reader zinc finger MYND-type containing 8 (ZMYND8) is induced by HIF-1 and HIF-2 in breast cancer cells and also upregulated in human breast tumors, and is correlated with poor survival of patients with breast cancer. Genetic deletion of ZMYND8 decreases breast cancer cell colony formation, migration, and invasion in vitro, and inhibits breast tumor growth and metastasis to the lungs in mice. The ZMYND8's oncogenic effect in breast cancer requires HIF-1 and HIF-2. We further showed that ZMYND8 interacts with HIF-1α and HIF-2α and enhances elongation of the global HIF-induced oncogenic genes by increasing recruitment of BRD4 and subsequent release of paused RNA polymerase II in breast cancer cells. ZMYND8 acetylation at lysines 1007 and 1034 by p300 is required for HIF activation and breast cancer progression and metastasis. These findings uncover a primary epigenetic mechanism of HIF activation and HIF-mediated breast cancer progression, and discover a possible molecular target for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) control the transcription of genes that are crucial for the pathogenesis of cancer and other human diseases. The transcriptional activity of HIFs is rapidly increased upon exposure to hypoxia, but expression of some HIF target genes decreases during prolonged hypoxia. However, the underlying mechanism for feedback inhibition is not completely understood. Here, we report that peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2) and PRDX4 interact with HIF-1α and HIF-2α in vitro and in hypoxic HeLa cells. Prolonged hypoxia increases the nuclear translocation of PRDX2 and PRDX4. As a result, PRDX2 and PRDX4 impair HIF-1 and HIF-2 binding to the hypoxia response elements of a subset of HIF target genes, thereby inhibiting gene transcription in cells exposed to prolonged hypoxia. PRDX2 and PRDX4 have no effect on the recruitment of p300 and RNA polymerase II to HIF target genes and the enzymatic activity of PRDX2 and PRDX4 is not required for inhibition of HIF-1 and HIF-2. We also demonstrate that PRDX2 is a direct HIF target gene and that PRDX2 expression is induced by prolonged hypoxia. These findings uncover a novel feedback mechanism for inhibition of HIF transcriptional activity under conditions of prolonged hypoxia.

Signaling through glutamate receptors has been reported in human cancers, but the molecular mechanisms are not fully delineated. We report that in hepatocellular carcinoma and clear cell renal carcinoma cells, increased activity of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) due to hypoxia or VHL loss-of-function, respectively, augmented release of glutamate, which was mediated by HIF-dependent expression of the SLC1A1 and SLC1A3 genes encoding glutamate transporters. In addition, HIFs coordinately regulated expression of the GRIA2 and GRIA3 genes, which encode glutamate receptors. Binding of glutamate to its receptors activated SRC family kinases and downstream pathways, which stimulated cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis resistance, migration and invasion in different cancer cell lines. Thus, coordinate regulation of glutamate transporters and receptors by HIFs was sufficient to activate key signal transduction pathways that promote cancer progression.

Extracellular vesicles such as exosomes and microvesicles (MVs) are shed by cancer cells, are detected in the plasma of cancer patients, and promote cancer progression, but the molecular mechanisms regulating their production are not well understood. Intratumoral hypoxia is common in advanced breast cancers and is associated with an increased risk of metastasis and patient mortality that is mediated in part by the activation of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). In this paper, we report that exposure of human breast cancer cells to hypoxia augments MV shedding that is mediated by the HIF-dependent expression of the small GTPase RAB22A, which colocalizes with budding MVs at the cell surface. Incubation of naïve breast cancer cells with MVs shed by hypoxic breast cancer cells promotes focal adhesion formation, invasion, and metastasis. In breast cancer patients, RAB22A mRNA overexpression in the primary tumor is associated with decreased overall and metastasis-free survival and, in an orthotopic mouse model, RAB22A knockdown impairs breast cancer metastasis.

Increased catalytic activity of CBS (cystathionine β-synthase) was recently shown to mediate vasodilation of the cerebral microcirculation, which is initiated within minutes of the onset of acute hypoxia. To test whether chronic hypoxia was a stimulus for increased CBS expression, U87-MG human glioblastoma and PC12 rat phaeochromocytoma cells were exposed to 1% or 20% O2 for 24-72 h. CBS mRNA and protein expression were increased in hypoxic cells. Hypoxic induction of CBS expression was abrogated in cells transfected with vector encoding shRNA targeting HIF (hypoxia-inducible factor) 1α or 2α. Exposure of rats to hypobaric hypoxia (0.35 atm; 1 atm=101.325 kPa) for 3 days induced increased CBS mRNA, protein and catalytic activity in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum, which was blocked by administration of the HIF inhibitor digoxin. HIF-binding sites, located 0.8 and 1.2 kb 5' to the transcription start site of the human CBS and rat Cbs genes respectively, were identified by ChIP assays. A 49-bp human sequence, which encompassed an inverted repeat of the core HIF-binding site, functioned as a hypoxia-response element in luciferase reporter transcription assays. Thus HIFs mediate tissue-specific CBS expression, which may augment cerebral vasodilation as an adaptive response to chronic hypoxia.

Metastasis involves critical interactions between cancer and stromal cells. Intratumoral hypoxia promotes metastasis through activation of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). We demonstrate that HIFs mediate paracrine signaling between breast cancer cells (BCCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to promote metastasis. In a mouse orthotopic implantation model, MSCs were recruited to primary breast tumors and promoted BCC metastasis to LNs and lungs in a HIF-dependent manner. Coculture of MSCs with BCCs augmented HIF activity in BCCs. Additionally, coculture induced expression of the chemokine CXCL10 in MSCs and the cognate receptor CXCR3 in BCCs, which was augmented by hypoxia. CXCR3 expression was blocked in cocultures treated with neutralizing antibody against CXCL10. Conversely, CXCL10 expression was blocked in MSCs cocultured with BCCs that did not express CXCR3 or HIFs. MSC coculture did not enhance the metastasis of HIF-deficient BCCs. BCCs and MSCs expressed placental growth factor (PGF) and its cognate receptor VEGFR1, respectively, in a HIF-dependent manner, and CXCL10 expression by MSCs was dependent on PGF expression by BCCs. PGF promoted metastasis of BCCs and also facilitated homing of MSCs to tumors. Thus, HIFs mediate complex and bidirectional paracrine signaling between BCCs and MSCs that stimulates breast cancer metastasis.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are transcription factors that mediate adaptive responses to reduced oxygen availability. HIF-alpha subunits are stabilized under conditions of acute hypoxia. However, prolonged hypoxia leads to decay of HIF-1alpha but not HIF-2alpha protein levels by unknown mechanisms. Here, we identify Hsp70 and CHIP (carboxyl terminus of Hsc70-interacting protein) as HIF-1alpha-interacting proteins. Hsp70, through recruiting the ubiquitin ligase CHIP, promotes the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of HIF-1alpha but not HIF-2alpha, thereby inhibiting HIF-1-dependent gene expression. Disruption of Hsp70-CHIP interaction blocks HIF-1alpha degradation mediated by Hsp70 and CHIP. Inhibition of Hsp70 or CHIP synthesis by RNA interference increases protein levels of HIF-1alpha but not HIF-2alpha and attenuates the decay of HIF-1alpha levels during prolonged hypoxia. Thus, Hsp70- and CHIP-dependent ubiquitination represents a molecular mechanism by which prolonged hypoxia selectively reduces the levels of HIF-1alpha but not HIF-2alpha protein.