Abstract.
Cumulative acquisition of genetic alterations affecting oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes may select for tumor cell clones with enhanced proliferation and survival potential. As a result oxygen and nutrient consumption increases, leading to a tumor microenvironment characterized by low oxygen tension, low glucose levels, and an acidic pH. Hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIF) are activated in response to hypoxia, apparently via reduced activity of the recently identified class of 2-oxoglutarate dependent oxygenases, as well as various tumor specific genetic alterations. A widespread HIF activation can be observed in a variety of malignant tumors. The HIF system induces adaptive responses including angiogenesis, glycolysis, and pH regulation which confer increased resistance towards the hostile tumor microenvironment. Apart from protumorigenic the wide-ranging HIF pathway may also have antitumorigenic components, which might, however, be counteracted by specific genetic mechanisms. Thus mounting evidence suggests that the HIF system plays a decisive role in tumor physiology and progression. Moreover, recent insight into this pathway has opened novel and potentially selective therapeutic approaches.
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Acker, T., Plate, K.H. A role for hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible transcription factors in tumor physiology. J Mol Med 80, 562–575 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-002-0355-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-002-0355-1