Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Solid tumors contain regions of hypoxia, a physiological stress that can activate cell death pathways and, thus, result in the selection of cells resistant to death signals and anticancer therapy. Bcl2/adenovirus EIB 19kD-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) is a cell death factor that is a member of the Bcl-2 proapoptotic family recently shown to induce necrosis rather than apoptosis. Using cDNA arrays and serial analysis of gene expression, we found that hypoxia induces up-regulation of BNIP3 and its homologue, Nip3-like protein X. Analysis of human carcinoma cell lines showed that they are hypoxically regulated in many tumor types, as well as in endothelial cells and macrophages. Regulation was hypoxia inducible factor-1-dependent, and hypoxia inducible factor-1 expression was suppressed by von Hippel-Lindau protein in normoxic cells. Northern blotting and in situ hybridization analysis has revealed that these factors are highly expressed in human tumors compared with normal tissue and that BNIP3 is up-regulated in perinecrotic regions of the tumor. This study shows that genes regulating cell death can be hypoxically induced and are overexpressed in clinical tumors.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Cancer research

Publication Date

09/2001

Volume

61

Pages

6669 - 6673

Addresses

Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DS, United Kingdom.

Keywords

Breast, CHO Cells, Tumor Cells, Cultured, Animals, Humans, Carcinoma, Renal Cell, Breast Neoplasms, Kidney Neoplasms, DNA-Binding Proteins, Membrane Proteins, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Tumor Suppressor Proteins, Nuclear Proteins, Transcription Factors, RNA, Messenger, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Apoptosis, Cell Hypoxia, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Up-Regulation, Cricetinae, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit