TY - JOUR T1 - Molecular Responses to Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1α and Beyond JF - Molecular Pharmacology JO - Mol Pharmacol DO - 10.1124/mol.113.089623 SP - mol.113.089623 AU - Yana Chervona AU - Jason A Brocato AU - Max Costa Y1 - 2014/01/01 UR - http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2014/02/25/mol.113.089623.abstract N2 - Cellular response to changes in oxygen tension during normal development or pathological processes is, in part, regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), an oxygen sensitive transcription factor. HIF activity is primarily controlled through post-translational modifications, and stabilization of HIF-1α; and HIF-2α; proteins, and is regulated by a number of cellular pathways involving both oxygen-dependent and oxygen- independent mechanisms. Stabilization of HIF-1α, in particular, activates transcription of genes that participate in key pathways in carcinogenesis, such as angiogenesis, dedifferentiation, and invasion. Since its discovery more than two decades ago, HIF-1α has become an important topic in molecular research and has been implicated not only in disease pathology, but also in it's prognosis. In this review, we will focus on recent insights into HIF-1α regulation, function and gene expression. We will also discuss emerging data on HIFs involvement in cancer prognosis and therapeutic interventions. ER -