Nitric oxide reverses desferrioxamine- and hypoxia-evoked HIF-1alpha accumulation--implications for prolyl hydroxylase activity and iron

Hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) senses and coordinates cellular responses towards hypoxia. HIF-1 activity is primarily determined by stability regulation of its alpha subunit that is degraded by the 26S proteasome under normoxia due to hydroxylation by prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) but is stabilized under hypoxia. Besides hypoxia, nitric oxide (NO) stabilizes HIF-1alpha and promotes hypoxia-responsive target gene expression under normoxia. However, in hypoxia, NO attenuates HIF-1alpha stabilization and gene activation. It was our intention to explain the contrasting behavior of NO under hypoxia. We used the iron chelator desferrioxamine (DFX) or hypoxia to accumulate HIF-1alpha in HEK293 cells. Once the protein accumulated, we supplied NO donors and followed HIF-1alpha disappearance. NO-evoked HIF-1alpha destabilization was reversed by proteasomal inhibition or by blocking PHD activity. By using the von Hippel Lindau (pVHL)-HIF-1alpha capture assay, we went on to demonstrate binding of pVHL to HIF-1alpha under DFX/NO but not DFX alone. Showing increased intracellular free iron under conditions of hypoxia/NO compared to hypoxia alone, we assume that increased free iron contributes to regain PHD activity. Variables that allow efficient PHD activation such as oxygen availability, iron content, or cofactor accessibility at that end allow NO to modulate HIF-1alpha accumulation.     

HIF-1alpha-prolyl hydroxylase: molecular target of nitric oxide in the hypoxic signal transduction pathway

We have investigated inhibitory mechanisms of hypoxic activation of HIF-1alpha by nitric oxide (NO). Using a Hep3B cell-derived cell line, HRE7 cells, we found that the inhibition of HIF-1alpha activity by NO requires a substantial amount of oxygen, albeit at a lower level. We further investigated the effect of NO on the binding activity of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (pVHL) to the N-terminal activation domain (NAD) overlapping the oxygen-dependent degradation domain (ODD) of HIF-1alpha, because this reaction involves prolyl hydroxylation in NAD that requires oxygen. Although we could not detect any binding activity when NAD was incubated with whole cell extracts from cells treated with CoCl(2) or desferrioxamine, the binding capacity was manifested when Hep3B cells were treated together with NO. This activation was also observed when whole cell extracts from CoCl(2)-treated cells were incubated with NO. The prolyl hydroxylase from Hep3B cells treated with CoCl(2) was partially purified about 80-fold, and several enzymatic properties were examined. The enzyme required ferrous ion and 2-oxoglutaric acid. Strong activation of the prolyl hydroxylase by NO was observed without further addition of ferrous ion.     

NO restores HIF-1alpha hydroxylation during hypoxia: role of reactive oxygen species

The activity of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is primarily determined by stability regulation of its alpha subunit, which is stabilized under hypoxia but degraded during normoxia. Hydroxylation of HIF-1alpha by prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs) recruits the von Hippel-Lindau (pVHL) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex to initiate proteolytic destruction of the alpha subunit. Hypoxic stabilization of HIF-1alpha has been reported to be antagonized by nitric oxide (NO). By using a HIF-1alpha-pVHL binding assay, we show that NO released from DETA-NO restored prolyl hydroxylase activity under hypoxia. Destabilization of HIF-1alpha by DETA-NO was reversed by free radical scavengers such as NAC and Tiron, thus pointing to the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, we examined the effects of ROS on HIF-1alpha stabilization. Treatment of cells under hypoxia with low concentrations of the superoxide generator 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone lowered HIF-1alpha protein stabilization. In vitro HIF-1alpha-pVHL interaction assays demonstrated that low-level ROS formation increased prolyl hydroxylase activity, an effect antagonized by ROS scavengers. While determining intracellular ROS formation we noticed that reduced ROS production under hypoxia was restored by the addition of DETA-NO. We propose that an increase in ROS formation contributes to HIF-1alpha destabilization by NO donors under hypoxia via modulation of PHD activity.     

NO and CO differentially activate soluble guanylyl cyclase via a heme pivot-bend mechanism

Diatomic ligand discrimination by soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is paramount to cardiovascular homeostasis and neuronal signaling. Nitric oxide (NO) stimulates sGC activity 200-fold compared with only four-fold by carbon monoxide (CO). The molecular details of ligand discrimination and differential response to NO and CO are not well understood. These ligands are sensed by the heme domain of sGC, which belongs to the heme nitric oxide oxygen (H-NOX) domain family, also evolutionarily conserved in prokaryotes. Here we report crystal structures of the free, NO-bound, and CO-bound H-NOX domains of a cyanobacterial homolog. These structures and complementary mutational analysis in sGC reveal a molecular ruler mechanism that allows sGC to favor NO over CO while excluding oxygen, concomitant to signaling that exploits differential heme pivoting and heme bending. The heme thereby serves as a flexing wedge, allowing the N-terminal subdomain of H-NOX to shift concurrent with the transition of the six- to five-coordinated NO-bound state upon sGC activation. This transition can be modulated by mutations at sGC residues 74 and 145 and corresponding residues in the cyanobacterial H-NOX homolog.     

Zinc induces the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha, but inhibits the nuclear translocation of HIF-1beta, causing HIF-1 inactivation

The replacement of heme iron by cobalt or nickel in a putative oxygen sensor is supposed to reduce oxygen binding to the heme protein, resulting in HIF-1 activation and erythropoietin (EPO) induction. According to this hypothesis, zinc might be another example of a transition metal which is capable of stimulating EPO production. By substituting for heme iron, zinc protoporphyrin IX is produced, which has a known low oxygen affinity. However, it has been reported that zinc fails to induce EPO in normoxia, and that it suppresses EPO production in hypoxic cells. This unexpected effect of zinc on EPO production is not understood. In this study, we found that zinc induced the accumulation and nuclear translocation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha but inhibited the nuclear translocation of HIF-1beta, which inactivated HIF-1 and suppressed EPO mRNA induction in hypoxic cells.     

Reactive oxygen species attenuate nitric-oxide-mediated hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha stabilization

Tissue hypoxia/ischemia are major pathophysiological determinants. Conditions of decreased oxygen availability provoke accumulation and activation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). Recent reports demonstrate a crucial role of HIF-1 for inflammatory events. Regulation of hypoxic responses by the inflammatory mediators nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) is believed to be of pathophysiolgical relevance. It is reported that hypoxic stabilization of HIF-1alpha can be antagonized by NO due to its ability to attenuate mitochondrial electron transport. Likely, the formation of ROS could contribute to this effect. As conflicting results emerged from several studies showing either decreased or increased ROS production during hypoxia, we used experiments mimicking hypoxic intracellular ROS changes by using the redox cycling agent 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (DMNQ), which generates superoxide inside cells. Treatment of A549, HEK293, HepG2, and COS cells with DMNQ resulted in a concentration-dependent raise in ROS which correlated with HIF-1alpha accumulation. By using a HIF-1alpha-von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein binding assay, we show that ROS produced by DMNQ impaired prolyl hydroxylase activity. When HIF-1alpha is stabilized by NO, low concentrations of DMNQ (<1 microM) revealed no effect, intermediate concentrations of 1 to 40 microM DMNQ attenuated HIF-1alpha accumulation and higher concentrations of DMNQ promoted HIF-1alpha stability. Attenuation of NO-induced HIF-1alpha stability regulation by ROS was mediated by an active proteasomal degradation pathway. In conclusion, we propose that scavenging of NO by ROS and vice versa attenuate HIF-1alpha accumulation in a concentration-dependent manner. This is important to fully elucidate HIF-1alpha regulation under inflammatory conditions.     

The mitochondrial thioredoxin system regulates nitric oxide-induced HIF-1alpha protein

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), consisting of two subunits, HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta, is a key regulator for adaptation to low oxygen availability, i.e., hypoxia. Compared to the constitutively expressed HIF-1beta, HIF-1alpha is regulated by hypoxia but also under normoxia (21% O(2)) by several stimuli, including nitric oxide (NO). In this study, we present evidence that overexpression of mitochondrial-located thioredoxin 2 (Trx2) or thioredoxin reductase 2 (TrxR2) attenuated NO-evoked HIF-1alpha accumulation and transactivation of HIF-1 in HEK293 cells. In contrast, cytosolic-located thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) enhanced HIF-1alpha protein amount and activity under NO treatments. Taking into consideration that thioredoxins affect the synthesis of HIF-1alpha by altering Akt/mTOR signaling, we herein show that p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase and p70S6 kinase are involved. Moreover, intracellular ATP was increased in Trx1-overexpressing cells but reduced in cells overexpressing Trx2 or TrxR2, providing thus an understanding of how protein synthesis is regulated by thioredoxins.     

Structural studies of constitutive nitric oxide synthases with diatomic ligands bound

Crystal structures are reported for the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)–arginine–CO ternary complex as well as the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) heme domain complexed with l-arginine and diatomic ligands, CO or NO, in the presence of the native cofactor, tetrahydrobiopterin, or its oxidized analogs, dihydrobiopterin and 4-aminobiopterin. The nature of the biopterin has no influence on the diatomic ligand binding. The binding geometries of diatomic ligands to nitric oxide synthase (NOS) follow the {MXY} ⁿ formalism developed from the inorganic diatomic–metal complexes. The structures reveal some subtle structural differences between eNOS and nNOS when CO is bound to the heme which correlate well with the differences in CO stretching frequencies observed by resonance Raman techniques. The detailed hydrogen-bonding geometries depicted in the active site of nNOS structures indicate that it is the ordered active-site water molecule rather than the substrate itself that would most likely serve as a direct proton donor to the diatomic ligands (CO, NO, as well as O₂) bound to the heme. This has important implications for the oxygen activation mechanism critical to NOS catalysis.     

Peroxynitrite as an alternative donor of oxygen in HIF-1alpha proline hydroxylation under low oxygen availability

In the last years, nitric oxide (NO) mediated signaling became an integral component in understanding physiological and pathophysiological processes of cell proliferation, death or cellular adaptation. Among other activities, NO affects multiple targets that allow regulation of gene expression. Recently, NO was found to attenuate accumulation of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) under hypoxic conditions because of several mechanisms: redistribution of oxygen toward non-respiratory oxygen-dependent targets (like HIF-1alpha proline hydroxylases--PHDs, which perform hydroxylation of Pro402/564 of HIF-1alpha leading to its proteasomal degradation); in addition, peroxynitrite formed during interactions between NO and mitochondria derived superoxide leads to an increase in cytosolic iron/2-oxoglutarate (2-OG), which required for PHD activation. Here, we propose a hypothesis that peroxynitrite, formed in the cells upon exposure to NO under low oxygen availability, serves as an alternative donor of oxygen for activated PHDs so they can perform HIF-1alpha proline hydroxylation to de-accumulate the protein.     

Calpain mediates a von Hippel-Lindau protein-independent destruction of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is controlled through stability regulation of its alpha subunit, which is expressed under hypoxia but degraded under normoxia. Degradation of HIF-1alpha requires association of the von Hippel Lindau protein (pVHL) to provoke ubiquitination followed by proteasomal digestion. Besides hypoxia, nitric oxide (NO) stabilizes HIF-1alpha under normoxia but destabilizes the protein under hypoxia. To understand the role of NO under hypoxia we made use of pVHL-deficient renal carcinoma cells (RCC4) that show a high steady state HIF-1alpha expression under normoxia. Exposing RCC4 cells to hypoxia in combination with the NO donor DETA-NO (2,2'-(hydroxynitrosohydrazono) bis-ethanimine), but not hypoxia or DETA-NO alone, decreased HIF-1alpha protein and attenuated HIF-1 transactivation. Mechanistically, we noticed a role of calpain because calpain inhibitors reversed HIF-1alpha degradation. Furthermore, chelating intracellular calcium attenuated HIF-1alpha destruction by hypoxia/DETA-NO, whereas a calcium increase was sufficient to lower the amount of HIF-1alpha even under normoxia. An active role of calpain in lowering HIF-1alpha amount was also evident in pVHL-containing human embryonic kidney cells when the calcium pump inhibitor thapsigargin reduced HIF-1alpha that was stabilized by the prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG). We conclude that calcium contributes to HIF-1alpha destruction involving the calpain system.