Inhibition of Hypoxia Inducible Factor Hydroxylases... : Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (original) (raw)

Basic Research

Inhibition of Hypoxia Inducible Factor Hydroxylases Protects Against Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Hill, Peter*; Shukla, Deepa*; Tran, Maxine G.B.*; Aragones, Julian†; Cook, H. Terence‡; Carmeliet, Peter†; Maxwell, Patrick H.*

*Renal Section, Division of Medicine, and †Department of Histopathology, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, London, United Kingdom; and †Center of Transgene Technology and Gene Therapy, University of Leuven, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium

Correspondence: Prof. Patrick Maxwell, Renal Section, Division of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK. Phone: +44-0-2083838594; Fax: +44-0-2083832062; E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted July 18, 2007

Received September 12, 2006

Abstract

Acute renal failure resulting from hypoperfusion and hypoxia is a significant clinical problem. Hypoxia activates the heterodimeric transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor (HIF), leading to changes in gene expression that promote tissue adaptation and survival. To determine whether HIF may protect the kidney from ischemia-reperfusion injury, we subjected hif1a+/− and hif2a+/− mice to renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Injury was substantially more severe in hif+/− than in littermate controls, consistent with a protective role for HIF. Because wild-type mice exhibited submaximal HIF accumulation in response to no-flow ischemia, we tested compounds that might augment the protective HIF response following ischemia-reperfusion in these animals. We found that l-mimosine and dimethyloxalylglycine, two small molecules that activate HIF by inhibiting HIF hydroxylases, protected mouse kidneys from ischemia-reperfusion injury. Therefore, pharmacological activation of HIF may offer an effective strategy to protect the kidney from ischemic injury.