Hypoxia suffocates histone demethylases to change gene expression: a metabolic control of histone methylation

Hypoxia affects various physiological and pathophyological processes. Hypoxia changes the expression of hypoxiaresponsive genes through two main pathways. First, hypoxia activates transcription factors (TF) such as Hypoxia-inducible Factor (HIF). Second, hypoxia decreases the activity of Jumonji C domain-containing histone demethylases (JMJDs) that require O2 and α-Ketoglutarate (α-KG) as substrates. The JMJDs affect gene expression through their regulation of active or repressive histone methylations. Profiling of H3K4me3, H3K9me3, and H3K27me3 under both normoxia and hypoxia identified 75 TFs whose binding motifs were significantly enriched in the methylated regions of the genes. TFs showing similar binding strengths to their target genes might be under the 'metabolic control' which changes histone methylation and gene expression by instant changing catalytic activities of resident histone demethylases. [BMB Reports 2017; 50(11): 537-538].