title: FoxO proteins mediate hypoxic induction of connective tissue growth factor in endothelial cells.
abstract: Hypoxia, a driving force in neovascularization, promotes alterations in gene expression mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF, CCN2) is a modulator of endothelial cell growth and migration, but its regulation by hypoxia is poorly understood. Therefore, we analyzed signaling pathways involved in the regulation of CTGF by hypoxia in endothelial cells. Exposure to low oxygen tension or treatment with the hypoxia-mimetic dimethyloxalyl glycine (DMOG) stabilized HIF-1alpha and up-regulated CTGF in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and in a murine microvascular endothelial cell line. Induction of CTGF correlated with a HIF-dependent increase in protein and mRNA levels, and nuclear accumulation of the transcription factor FoxO3a. By contrast, gene expression and cellular localization of FoxO1 were not significantly altered by hypoxia. Expression of CTGF was strongly reduced by siRNA silencing of FoxO1 or FoxO3a. Furthermore, nuclear exclusion of FoxO1/3a transcription factors by inhibition of serine/threonine protein phosphatases by okadaic acid inhibited CTGF expression, providing evidence for both FoxO proteins as regulators of CTGF expression. The DMOG-stimulated induction of CTGF was further increased when endothelial cells were co-incubated with transforming growth factor-beta, an activator of Smad signaling. Activation of RhoA-Rho kinase signaling by the microtubule-disrupting drug combretastatin A4 also enhanced the DMOG-induced CTGF expression, thus placing CTGF induction by hypoxia in a network of interacting signaling pathways. Our findings provide evidence that FoxO1, hypoxia-stimulated expression of FoxO3a and its nuclear accumulation are required for the induction of CTGF by hypoxia in endothelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samarin
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wessel
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cicha
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kroening
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Warnecke
authors.forename: Margarete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goppelt-Struebe
mesh_terms: D000600:Amino Acids, Dicarboxylic / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071161:Forkhead Box Protein O1; D000071316:Forkhead Box Protein O3; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000600:Amino Acids, Dicarboxylic; D000071161:Forkhead Box Protein O1; D000071316:Forkhead Box Protein O3; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C474033:FoxO3 protein, mouse; C467200:Foxo1 protein, mouse; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor; C040947:oxalylglycine