Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, is induced by hypoxia in oxygensensitive cells of the carotid body and pheochromocytomaderived PC12 cells. TH is also regulated by the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (pVHL). Here, we report that induction of TH gene expression involves activation of the hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) that interact with a specific hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) in the proximal region of the TH promoter. We also show that some of the effects of pVHL on activity of the TH promoter are mediated through HIFs. Low levels of pVHL are associated with decreased HIFa ubiquitination, increased accumulation of HIFa proteins, increased binding of HIFs to the HRE within the TH promoter, and increased activity of a TH promoterreporter construct. In contrast, high levels of pVHL repress HIF accumulation and inhibit its activity in hypoxic cells. These results indicate that HIFs may play an important role in regulation of TH gene expression in oxygen-sensitive cells and also in the development of hypercatecholaminemia in pheochromocytoma tumors.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are ubiquitous transcription factors that mediate adaptation to hypoxia by inducing specific sets of target genes. It is well accepted that hypoxia induces accumulation and activity of HIFs by causing stabilization of their alpha subunits. We have demonstrated that hypoxia stimulates translation of HIF-1alpha and -2alpha proteins by distributing HIF-alpha mRNAs to larger polysome fractions. This requires influx of extracellular calcium, stimulation of classical protein kinase C-alpha (cPKC-alpha), and the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin, mTOR. The translational component contributes to approximately 40-50% of HIF-alpha proteins accumulation after 3 h of 1% O2. Hypoxia also inhibits general protein synthesis and mTOR activity; however, cPKC-alpha inhibitors or rapamycin reduce mTOR activity and total protein synthesis beyond the effects of hypoxia alone. These data show that during general inhibition of protein synthesis by hypoxia, cap-mediated translation of selected mRNAs is induced through the mTOR pathway. We propose that calcium-induced activation of cPKC-alpha hypoxia partially protects an activity of mTOR from hypoxic inhibition. These results provide an important physiologic insight into the mechanism by which hypoxia-stimulated influx of calcium selectively induces the translation of mRNAs necessary for adaptation to hypoxia under conditions repressing general protein synthesis.

Abstract-Chronic intermittent hypoxia, a characteristic feature of sleep-disordered breathing, induces hypertension through augmented sympathetic nerve activity and requires the presence of functional carotid body arterial chemoreceptors. In contrast, chronic sustained hypoxia does not alter blood pressure. We therefore analyzed the biosynthetic pathways of catecholamines in peripheral nervous system structures involved in the pathogenesis of intermittent hypoxia-induced hypertension, namely, carotid bodies, superior cervical ganglia, and adrenal glands. Rats were exposed to either intermittent hypoxia (90 seconds of room air alternating with 90 seconds of 10% O 2 ) or to sustained hypoxia (10% O 2 ) for 1 to 30 days. Dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and 5-hydroxytyptamine contents were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and its phosphorylated forms, dopamine ␤-hydroxylase, phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase, and GTP cyclohydrolase-1 were determined by Western blot analyses. Both sustained and intermittent hypoxia significantly increased dopamine and norepinephrine content in carotid bodies but not in sympathetic ganglia or adrenal glands. In carotid bodies, both types of hypoxia augmented total levels of tyrosine hydroxylase protein and its phosphorylation on serines 19, 31, 40, as well as levels of GTP cyclohydrolase-1. However, the effects of intermittent hypoxia on catecholaminergic pathways were significantly smaller and delayed than those induced by sustained hypoxia. Thus, attenuated induction of catecholaminergic phenotype by intermittent hypoxia in carotid body may play a role in development of hypertension associated with sleep-disordered breathing. The effects of both types of hypoxia on expression of catecholaminergic enzymes in superior cervical neurons and adrenal glands were transient and small. Key Words: blood pressure Ⅲ catecholamines Ⅲ chemoreceptors Ⅲ sympathetic nervous system Ⅲ sleep apnea syndromes Ⅲ oxygen Ⅲ adrenal gland S leep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a frequent condition that affects Ϸ5% of the population and is characterized by repetitive episodes of hypoxemia and hypercapnia, followed by arousal, respiratory recovery, and reoxygenation. Persistent SDB is causally associated with substantial cardiovascular morbidity, the most important being systemic arterial hypertension (for recent comprehensive review, see Fletcher, 2003 1 ). The mechanisms involved in the genesis of this hypertension appear to involve several different components including augmented sympathetic nerve activity, 1-4 altered function of arterial chemoreceptors, 1,5-7 elevated levels of circulating norepinephrine (NE), 8 -10 decreased vascular responses to nitric oxide, 11 increased plasma concentrations of endothelin, 12,13 and altered regulation of the renal kallikrein-kallistatin pathway. 14 The use of animal model systems in which different components of SDB can be studied individually have revealed that intermittent hy...

Reduced oxygen tension (hypoxia) in the environment stimulates oxygen-sensitive cells in the carotid body (CB). Upon exposure to hypoxia, the CB immediately triggers a reflexive physiological response, thereby increasing respiration. Adaptation to hypoxia involves changes in the expression of various CB genes, whose products are involved in the transduction and modulation of the hypoxic signal to the central nervous system (CNS). Genes encoding neurotransmitter-synthesizing enzymes and receptors are particularly important in this regard. The cellular response to hypoxia correlates closely with the release and biosynthesis of catecholamines. The gene expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme for catecholamine biosynthesis, is regulated by hypoxia in the CB and in the oxygen-sensitive cultured PC12 cell line. Recently, genomic microarray studies have identified additional genes regulated by hypoxia. Patterns of gene expression vary, depending on the type of applied hypoxia, e.g., intermittent vs. chronic. Construction of a hypoxia-regulated, CB-specific, subtractive cDNA library will enable us to further characterize regulation of gene expression in the CB.