%0 Journal Article
%T The role of hypoxia-inducible factors in metabolic diseases
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0096-z
%X Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), a family of transcription factors activated by hypoxia, consist of three ¦Á-subunits (HIF1¦Á, HIF2¦Á and HIF3¦Á) and one ¦Â-subunit (HIF1¦Â), which serves as a heterodimerization partner of the HIF¦Á subunits. HIF¦Á subunits are stabilized from constitutive degradation by hypoxia largely through lowering the activity of the oxygen-dependent prolyl hydroxylases that hydroxylate HIF¦Á, leading to their proteolysis. HIF1¦Á and HIF2¦Á are expressed in different tissues and regulate target genes involved in angiogenesis, cell proliferation and inflammation, and their expression is associated with different disease states. HIFs have been widely studied because of their involvement in cancer, and HIF2¦Á-specific inhibitors are being investigated in clinical trials for the treatment of kidney cancer. Although cancer has been the major focus of research on HIF, evidence has emerged that this pathway has a major role in the control of metabolism and influences metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Notably increased HIF1¦Á and HIF2¦Á signalling in adipose tissue and small intestine, respectively, promotes metabolic diseases in diet-induced disease models. Inhibition of HIF1¦Á and HIF2¦Á decreases the adverse diet-induced metabolic phenotypes, suggesting that they could be drug targets for the treatment of metabolic diseases
%U https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-018-0096-z