免疫系统防御强，遇到缺氧HIF帮

缺氧诱导因子（hypoxia-inducible factor,HIF）是一类受氧调控的转录因子。其α亚基是氧敏感性亚基,包括HIF-1α、HIF-2α和HIF-3α,与β亚基形成异源二聚体,活化目标基因的表达以调节细胞对低氧的反应。HIF本身受到精细调节,包括转录组水平的调节,以及通过蛋白质翻译后修饰所进行的蛋白质水平的调节,以确保细胞对低氧压力产生适当反应。免疫应答常伴随局部组织的低氧状况,HIF是低氧环境中先天免疫和适应性免疫应答的重要调节因子。在天然免疫系统,HIF激活一系列与代谢相关的基因表达,调节中性粒细胞、巨噬细胞和树突状细胞的发育、极化和功能。对于适应性免疫,近年来的研究确立了HIF在CD4⁺T细胞分化和功能中的重要作用。本综述将重点讨论近年来有关HIF调节机制,及其在免疫细胞功能研究的进展。     

The oxygen sensing signal cascade under the influence of reactive oxygen species

Structural and functional integrity of organ function profoundly depends on a regular oxygen and glucose supply. Any disturbance of this supply becomes life threatening and may result in severe loss of organ function. Particular reductions in oxygen availability (hypoxia) caused by respiratory or blood circulation irregularities cannot be tolerated for longer periods due to an insufficient energy supply by anaerobic glycolysis. Complex cellular oxygen sensing systems have evolved to tightly regulate oxygen homeostasis. In response to variations in oxygen partial pressure (PO2), these systems induce adaptive and protective mechanisms to avoid or at least minimize tissue damage. These various responses might be based on a range of oxygen sensing signal cascades including an isoform of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase, different electron carrier units of the mitochondrial chain such as a specialized mitochondrial, low PO2 affinity cytochrome c oxidase (aa3) and a subfamily of 2-oxoglutarate dependent dioxygenases termed HIF (hypoxia inducible factor) prolyl-hydroxylase and HIF asparaginyl hydroxylase called factor-inhibiting HIF (FIH-1). Thus, specific oxygen sensing cascades involving reactive oxygen species as second messengers may by means of their different oxygen sensitivities, cell-specific and subcellular localization help to tailor various adaptive responses according to differences in tissue oxygen availability.     

Human cytotrophoblast expression of the von Hippel-Lindau protein is downregulated during uterine invasion in situ and upregulated by hypoxia in vitro

The von Hippel-Lindau tumor-suppressor protein (pVHL) regulates the stability of HIF1 alpha and HIF2 alpha and thus is pivotal in cellular responses to changes in oxygen tension. Paradoxically, human cytotrophoblasts proliferate under hypoxic conditions comparable to those measured in the early gestation placenta (2% O(2)), but differentiate into tumorlike invasive cells under well-oxygenated conditions such as those found in the uterus. We sought to explain this phenomenon in terms of pVHL expression. In situ, pVHL immunolocalized to villous cytotrophoblast stem cells, and expression was enhanced at sites of cell column initiation; in both of these relatively hypoxic locations, cytoplasmic staining for HIF2 alpha was also detected. As cytotrophoblasts attached to and invaded the uterus, which results in their increased exposure to oxygen, pVHL staining was abruptly downregulated concordant with localization of HIF2 alpha to the nucleus. In vitro, hypoxia (2% O(2)) upregulated cytotrophoblast pVHL expression together with HIF2 alpha, which localized to the cytoplasm; culture under well-oxygenated conditions greatly reduced levels of both molecules. These results, together with the placental defects previously observed in VHL(-/-) mice, suggest that pVHL is a component of the mechanism that transduces local differences in oxygen tension at the maternal-fetal interface to changes in the biological behavior of cytotrophoblasts. Furthermore, these data provide the first example of oxygen-dependent changes in pVHL abundance.