HIFs
Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are heterodimeric transcription factors that regulate adaptive responses to low oxygen tension.
HIFs are composed of alpha subunits, such as HIF3A, and beta subunits, both of which belong to the superfamily of proteins containing basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), PER as PER1 (MIM.602260), ARNT (MIM.126110), SIM as SIM1 (MIM.603128) (PAS) domains.
Members
| HIF1A | HIF2A | HIF3A |
MYC
The interaction of MYC and hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) under physiological, non-tumorigenic conditions provides insights into normal homeostatic cellular responses to low oxygen levels (hypoxia).
Many tumours contain genetic alterations, such as MYC activation, that can collaborate with HIF to confer metabolic advantages to tumour cells, which tend to exist in a hypoxic microenvironment.
References
Simon MC, Keith B. The role of oxygen availability in embryonic development and stem cell function. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2008 Apr;9(4):285-96. PMID: #18285802#
Dang CV, Kim JW, Gao P, Yustein J. The interplay between MYC and HIF in cancer. Nat Rev Cancer. 2008 Jan;8(1):51-6. PMID: #18046334#