Oxygen-Dependent Ubiquitination and Degradation of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Requires Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Trafficking of the von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly evident that the degradation of nuclear proteins requires nuclear-cytoplasmic trafficking of both the substrate proteins, as well as the E3 ubiquitin-ligases. Here, we show that nuclear-cytoplasmic trafficking of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (VHL) is required for oxygen-dependent ubiquitination and degradation of the alpha subunits of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-α). VHL engages in a constitutive transcription-sensitive nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttle unaffected by oxygen tension or levels of nuclear substrate HIF-α. Ubiquitinated forms of HIF-α, as well as VHL/ubiquitinated HIF-α complexes, are found solely in the nuclear compartment of normoxic or reoxygenated VHL-competent cells. HIF-α localizes exclusively in the nucleus of hypoxic cells but is exported to the cytoplasm upon reoxygenation. Oxygen-dependent nuclear ubiquitination and nuclear export of HIF-α can be prevented by treatment with an HIF-specific prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor. Treatment with inhibitors of RNA polymerase II activity, which interfere with the ability of VHL to engage in nuclear export, also prevents cytoplasmic accumulation of HIF-α in reoxygenated cells. This caused a marked increase in the HIF-α half-life without affecting its nuclear ubiquitination. We present a model by which VHL-mediated ubiquitination of HIF-α and its subsequent degradation are dependent upon dynamic nuclear-cytoplasmic trafficking of both the E3 ubiquitin-ligase and the nuclear substrate protein.

We sincerely thank Martine Whissel for excellent technical assistance.

This work was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). S.L. is a scholar of the CIHR. I.G. is supported by a studentship from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology Foundation.