Mapping the HIF transcription factor in cancer by ChIP-Seq technology

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York. All rights are reserved. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is the major transcriptional regulator mediating the cellular physiological response to reduced levels of oxygen (hypoxia). Upregulated as a consequence, both of intra-tumour hypoxia and through activation of oncogenic pathways, HIF has an important role in the pathogenesis of many cancers. However, activation of major physiological pathways in cancer upregulates pathways with both pro-and antitumorigenic actions and therefore confers a co-selection penalty. It is likely that both genetic and epigenetic factors alter the HIF-transcriptional response to favour a more tumorigenic profile. Mapping HIF transcription factor binding in cancer by ChIP-seq technology provides a framework for studying the mechanisms by which both genetic and epigenetic signatures associated with cancer may alter this HIF response.