The HIF-2α-driven pseudo-hypoxic phenotype in tumor aggressiveness, differentiation, and vascularization

Cellular adaptation to diminished tissue oxygen tensions, hypoxia, is largely governed by the hypoxia inducible transcription factors, HIF-1 and HIF-2. Tumor hypoxia and high HIF protein levels are frequently associated with aggressive disease. In recent years, high tumor cell levels of HIF-2 and the oxygen sensitive subunit HIF-2α have been associated with unfavorable disease and shown to be highly expressed in tumor stem/initiating cells originating from neuroblastoma and glioma, respectively. In these cells, HIF-2 is active under nonhypoxic conditions as well, creating a pseudo-hypoxic phenotype with clear influence on tumor behavior. Neuroblastoma tumor initiating cells are immature with a neural crest-like phenotype and downregulation of HIF-2α in these cells results in neuronal sympathetic differentiation and the cells become phenotypically similar to the bulk of neuroblastoma cells found in clinical specimens. Knockdown of HIF-2α in neuroblastoma and glioma tumor stem/initiating cells leads to reduced levels of VEGF and poorly vascularized, highly necrotic tumors. As high HIF-2α expression further correlates with disseminated disease as demonstrated in neuroblastoma, glioma, and breast carcinoma, we propose that targeting HIF-2α and/or the pseudo-hypoxic phenotype induced by HIF-2 under normoxic conditions has great clinical potential.