Role of oxidants in NF-kappa B activation and TNF-alpha gene transcription induced by hypoxia and endotoxin.

The transcription factor NF-kappa B stimulates the transcription of proinflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha. LPS (endotoxin) and hypoxia both induce NF-kappa B activation and TNF-alpha gene transcription. Furthermore, hypoxia augments LPS induction of TNF-alpha mRNA. Previous reports have indicated that antioxidants abolish NF-kappa B activation in response to LPS or hypoxia, which suggests that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in NF-kappa B activation. This study tested whether mitochondrial ROS are required for both NF-kappaB activation and the increase in TNF-alpha mRNA levels during hypoxia and LPS. Our results indicate that hypoxia (1.5% O2) stimulates NF-kappa B and TNF-alpha gene transcription and increases ROS generation as measured by the oxidant sensitive dye 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate in murine macrophage J774.1 cells. The antioxidants N-acetylcysteine and pyrrolidinedithiocarbamic acid abolished the hypoxic activation of NF-kappa B, TNF-alpha gene transcription, and increases in ROS levels. Rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, abolished the increase in ROS signal, the activation of NF-kappa B, and TNF-alpha gene transcription during hypoxia. LPS stimulated NF-kappa B and TNF-alpha gene transcription but not ROS generation in J774.1 cells. Rotenone, pyrrolidinedithiocarbamic acid, and N-acetylcysteine had no effect on the LPS stimulation of NF-kappa B and TNF-alpha gene transcription, indicating that LPS activates NF-kappa B and TNF-alpha gene transcription through a ROS-independent mechanism. These results indicate that mitochondrial ROS are required for the hypoxic activation of NF-kappa B and TNF-alpha gene transcription, but not for the LPS activation of NF-kappa B.

Reactive oxygen species generated at mitochondrial complex III stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha during hypoxia: a mechanism of O2 sensing.

During hypoxia, hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) is required for induction of a variety of genes including erythropoietin and vascular endothelial growth factor. Hypoxia increases mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation at Complex III, which causes accumulation of HIF-1alpha protein responsible for initiating expression of a luciferase reporter construct under the control of a hypoxic response element. This response is lost in cells depleted of mitochondrial DNA (rho(0) cells). Overexpression of catalase abolishes hypoxic response element-luciferase expression during hypoxia. Exogenous H(2)O(2) stabilizes HIF-1alpha protein during normoxia and activates luciferase expression in wild-type and rho(0) cells. Isolated mitochondria increase ROS generation during hypoxia, as does the bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans. These findings reveal that mitochondria-derived ROS are both required and sufficient to initiate HIF-1alpha stabilization during hypoxia.