The interplay between hypoxia-inducible factor and E2F - Transcriptional crosstalk under hypoxic conditions

Abstract

Hypoxia is an important condition in both developmental and pathological settings. It is crucial for cell survival to adapt to hypoxic stress. A key response to hypoxia is regulation of gene expression. The transcription factor HIF is involved in the regulation of most hypoxia-sensitive genes. HIF is known to regulate genes involved in the cell cycle, angiogenesis, metabolism, DNA repair and cell death. The E2F family of transcription factors also regulate genes in these cellular processes. Intriguingly, recently it was shown that E2F7/8 regulate angiogenesis through a transcriptional cooperation with HIF (Weijts and Bakker, 2012). It is therefore likely that these important transcription factors are involved in many of the same pathways under hypoxic conditions. However, not much is known about the interplay between HIF and E2F. This literature study investigates and reveals a broad relationship between HIF and E2F in the cell cycle, metabolism, DNA repair and cell death. Elucidation of the relationship between HIF and E2F may provide a better understanding of the role of hypoxia in development and disease.