Activation of HIF1α ubiquitination by a reconstituted von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor complex

Takumi Kamura, Shigeo Sato, Kazuhiro Iwai, Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska, Ronald C. Conaway, Joan Weliky Conaway

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

563 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mutations in the VHL tumor suppressor gene result in constitutive expression of many hypoxia-inducible genes, at least in part because of increases in the cellular level of hypoxia-inducible transcription factor HIF1α, which in normal cells is rapidly ubiquitinated and degraded by the proteasome under normoxic conditions. The recent observation that the VHL protein is a subunit of an Skp1-Cul1/Cdc53-F-box (SCF)-like E3 ubiquitin ligase raised the possibility that VHL may be directly responsible for regulating cellular levels of HIF1α by targeting it for ubiquitination and proteolysis. In this report, we test this hypothesis directly. We report development of methods for production of the purified recombinant VHL complex and present direct biochemical evidence that it can function with an E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme and E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme to activate HIF1α ubiquitination in vitro. Our findings provide new insight into the function of the VHL tumor suppressor protein, and they provide a foundation for future investigations of the mechanisms underlying VHL regulation of oxygen-dependent gene expression.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)10430-10435
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume97
Issue number19
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 12 2000
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Activation of HIF1α ubiquitination by a reconstituted von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor complex'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this