The Role of HIF in Immunity and Inflammation

• Published in: Cell metabolism Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 524 - 536
• Main Authors: McGettrick, Anne F., O’Neill, Luke A.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 06.10.2020
• ISSN: 1550-4131; 1932-7420; 1932-7420
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.08.002

HIF is a transcription factor that plays an essential role in the cellular response to low oxygen, orchestrating a metabolic switch that allows cells to survive in this environment. In immunity, infected and inflamed tissues are often hypoxic, and HIF helps immune cells adapt. HIF-α stabilization can also occur under normoxia during immunity and inflammation, where it regulates metabolism but in addition can directly regulate expression of immune genes. Here we review the role of HIF in immunity, including its role in macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils, T cells, and B cells. Its role in immunity is as essential for cellular responses as it is in its original role in hypoxia, with HIF being implicated in multiple inflammatory diseases and in immunosuppression in tumors. The transcription factor HIF has emerged as a key regulator of immune cell function during both hypoxia and normoxia. In this article, McGettrick and O’Neill review the role of HIF in different immune cells and discuss the role of HIF in multiple inflammatory diseases and in immunosuppression in tumors.