Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) accumulates in the nuclei of mammalian cells exposed to reduced O2 tension in a time- and O2 concentration-dependent manner. HIF-1 plays an important role in O2 homeostasis by activating transcription of genes whose products mediate essential cellular and systemic responses to hypoxia, including erythropoiesis (erythropoietin), glycolysis (glucose transporter-1, aldolase A, enolase 1, lactate dehydrogenase A, phosphofructokinase L, and phosphoglycerate kinase 1), vasculogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor), and vasodilation (inducible nitric oxide synthase and heme oxygenase 1).