Overexpression of PH-4, a novel putative proline 4-hydroxylase, modulates activity of hypoxia-inducible transcription factors.

Abstract Hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) are important for transcriptional adaptation to hypoxia. Availability of HIFs is regulated via posttranslational modification of their α subunits (HIF-1α and HIF-2α). Under normoxia, two highly conserved proline residues within the oxygen-dependent degradation domain (ODDD) are hydroxylated by oxoglutarate-dependent proline 4-hydroxylases EGLN1-3. Hydroxylated HIF-α interacts with the pVHL-E3 ubiquitin ligase complex and, subsequently, is degraded via the proteasomal pathway. We identified a novel putative proline 4-hydroxylase, PH-4, with an aminoterminal EF-hand motif and a carboxyterminal catalytic domain, which was highly expressed in most organs, and—unlike EGLNs which localize to the cytoplasm and nucleus—was associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. Like EGLNs, PH-4 overexpressed in cellular reporter assays suppressed the HIF transactivation activity, dependent on the consensus ODDD proline residues. Suppression of transactivation was correlated with decrease of cellular contents of HIF. Thus, PH-4 might be related to cellular oxygen sensing.