Bernhard Brüne

Hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF‐1) coordinates major responses to hypoxia, with the notion that its alpha subunit is degraded under normoxia but stable under hypoxia. Recently, calcium was shown to affect expression of HIF‐1α. While lowering cytosolic calcium accumulates HIF‐1α, a calcium increase by the ionophores A23187 or ionomycin as well as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca²⁺‐ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin produced inconsistent results with reports to either increase or decrease HIF‐1α protein. In the human hepatocyte cell line HepG2 only A23187, but neither ionomycin nor thapsigargin, accumulated HIF‐1α protein under normoxia. However, A23187 does so independently of a calcium increase. A23187 not only accumulated HIF‐1α protein but also mRNA of HIF‐1α, with the notion that protein but not mRNA accumulation was attenuated by blocking mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK), suggesting that HIF‐1α protein accumulation is not a direct consequence of its mRNA elevation. Indeed, protein stability determinations implied that A23187 enhanced translation of HIF‐1α. Interestingly, ionomycin and thapsigargin also increased the HIF‐1α mRNA content. Although not increasing the HIF‐1α protein amount under normoxia, both compounds enhanced protein accumulation of HIF‐1α under hypoxia. Taking into account that induction of ER stress by tunicamycin and brefeldin A, without altering intracellular calcium concentrations, also increased HIF‐1α mRNA, suggests that ER stress pathways enhanced transcription of HIF‐1α mRNA. We conclude that ER stress rather than calcium fluctuations increased HIF‐1α mRNA content by established calcium liberating agents, which alone is insufficient for normoxic HIF‐1α accumulation. J. Cell. Physiol. 215: 708–714, 2008.

In renal carcinoma cells (RCC4) hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is constitutively expressed due to a von Hippel Lindau protein deficiency, but can be degraded by calpain, independently of the 26S proteasome, when exposed to hypoxia/nitric oxide (NO). In this study we examined molecular mechanisms to explain calpain activation. The inability of hypoxia/NO to degrade HIF-1α in respiratory-deficient RCC4-ρ0 cells pointed to the requirement for mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species. A prerequisite for O ⁻₂ in combination with NO to destabilize HIF-1α was corroborated in RCC4-p0 cells, when the redox cycler 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone was used as a source of superoxide. Degradation of HIF-1α required intracellular calcium transients and calpain activation. Using uric acid to interfere with signal transmission elicited by NO/O ⁻₂ blocked HIF-1α degradation and attenuated a calcium increase. We conclude that an oxidative signal as a result of NO/O ⁻₂ coformation triggers a calcium increase that activates calpain to degrade HIF-1α, independently of the proteasome.

Macrophage polarization contributes to a number of human pathologies. This is exemplified for tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), which display a polarized M2 phenotype, closely associated with promotion of angiogenesis and suppression of innate immune responses. We present evidence that induction of apoptosis in tumor cells and subsequent recognition of apoptotic debris by macrophages participates in the macrophage phenotype shift. During coculture of human primary macrophages with human breast cancer carcinoma cells (MCF-7) the latter ones were killed, while macrophages acquired an alternatively activated phenotype. This was characterized by decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL) 12-p70 production, but increased formation of IL-8 and -10. Alternative macrophage activation required tumor cell death because a coculture with apoptosis-resistant colon carcinoma cells (RKO) or Bcl-2–overexpressing MCF-7 cells failed to induce phenotype alterations. Interestingly, phenotype alterations were achieved with conditioned media from apoptotic tumor cells, arguing for a soluble factor. Knockdown of sphingosine kinase (Sphk) 2, but not Sphk1, to attenuate S1P formation in MCF-7 cells, restored classical macrophage responses during coculture. Furthermore, macrophage polarization achieved by tumor cell apoptosis or substitution of authentic S1P suppressed nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling. These findings suggest that tumor cell apoptosis-derived S1P contributes to macrophage polarization.

Sensing and responding to changes in oxygen partial pressure assures that the cellular oxygen supply is tightly controlled in order to balance the risks of oxidative damage vs. oxygen deficiency. The hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) regulatory system is controlled by prolyl hydroxylases (PHDs), the von Hippel Lindau protein (pVHL), and the 26S proteasome and transduces changes in oxygenation to adequate intracellular adaptive responses. A functional HIF response requires stabilization of the alpha-subunit, e.g. HIF-1alpha, during hypoxia and dimerization with HIF-1beta, to drive target gene activation. Intriguingly, high concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) stabilize HIF-1alpha and thus mimic a hypoxic response under normoxia. Mechanistically, NO blocks PHD activity and attenuates proline hydroxylation of HIF-1alpha. This causes dissociation of pVHL from HIF-1alpha and, consequently, HIF-1alpha accumulates because proteasomal destruction is impaired. However, during hypoxia low concentrations of NO facilitate destruction of HIF-1alpha and thus reverse HIF signaling. Under these conditions, NO impairs respiration and avoids oxygen gradients that limit PHD activity. An additional layer of complexity comprises the interaction of NO with O(2)(-). Signaling qualities attributed to NO are antagonized by compensatory flux rates of O(2)(-) and vice versa to adjust levels of HIF-1alpha under normoxia and hypoxia. The liaison of NO and hypoxia is versatile and ranges from courting to matrimony and divorce.

Programmed cell death is vital for a number of pathophysiologic settings. Apoptotic cells are rapidly engulfed by phagocytes (ie, macrophages), which in turn acquire an anti-inflammatory phenotype known as alternative activation or the M2-type. Here we show that interaction of apoptotic cells with macrophages attenuates cell death pathways in the latter. Protection of human macrophages required phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and Ca²⁺ signaling, and correlated with Bcl-X_L and Bcl-2 up-regulation as well as Ser136-Bad phosphorylation. Unexpectedly, neither phagocytosis nor binding of apoptotic debris to the phagocyte was necessary to induce protection. Surprisingly, apoptotic cells released sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), mainly derived from sphingosine kinase 2, as a survival messenger. This points to an active role of apoptotic cells in preventing cell destruction in their neighborhood, with implications for innate immunity and inflammation.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is controlled through stability regulation of its alpha subunit, which is expressed under hypoxia but degraded under normoxia. Degradation of HIF-1α requires association of the von Hippel Lindau protein (pVHL) to provoke ubiquitination followed by proteasomal digestion. Besides hypoxia, nitric oxide (NO) stabilizes HIF-1α under normoxia but destabilizes the protein under hypoxia. To understand the role of NO under hypoxia we made use of pVHL-deficient renal carcinoma cells (RCC4) that show a high steady state HIF-1α expression under normoxia. Exposing RCC4 cells to hypoxia in combination with the NO donor DETA-NO (2,2′-(hydroxynitrosohydrazono) bis-ethanimine), but not hypoxia or DETA-NO alone, decreased HIF-1α protein and attenuated HIF-1 transactivation. Mechanistically, we noticed a role of calpain because calpain inhibitors reversed HIF-1α degradation. Furthermore, chelating intracellular calcium attenuated HIF-1α destruction by hypoxia/DETA-NO, whereas a calcium increase was sufficient to lower the amount of HIF-1α even under normoxia. An active role of calpain in lowering HIF-1α amount was also evident in pVHL-containing human embryonic kidney cells when the calcium pump inhibitor thapsigargin reduced HIF-1α that was stabilized by the prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG). We conclude that calcium contributes to HIF-1α destruction involving the calpain system.

It is appreciated that phagocytosis of apoptotic cells (AC) is an immunological relevant process that shapes the pro- versus anti-inflammatory macrophage phenotype. It was our intention to study the respiratory burst, a prototype marker of macrophage activation, under the impact of AC. Following incubation of RAW264.7 macrophages with AC, we noticed attenuated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to PMA treatment, and observed a correlation between attenuated ROS formation and suppression of protein kinase C (PKC) activation. EMSA analysis demonstrated an immediate activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- (PPAR) following supplementation of AC to macrophages. In macrophages carrying a dominant-negative PPAR mutant, recognition of AC no longer suppressed PKC activation, and the initial phase of ROS formation was largely restored. Interference with actin polymerization and transwell experiments suggest that recognition of AC by macrophages suffices to attenuate the early phase of ROS formation that is attributed to PPAR activation.