The Transcription Factor ZNF395 Is Required for the Maximal Hypoxic Induction of Proinflammatory Cytokines in U87-MG Cells

Hypoxia activates the expression of proangiogenic and survival promoting factors as well as proinflammatory cytokines that support tissue inflammation. Hypoxia and inflammation are associated with tumor progression. The identification of the factors participating in the hypoxia associated inflammation is essential to develop strategies to control tumor hypoxia. The transcription factor ZNF395 was found to be overexpressed in various tumors including glioblastomas particularly in the network of a hypoxic response pointing to a functional role of ZNF395. On the other hand, ZNF395 was suggested to have tumor suppressor activities which may rely on its repression of proinflammatory factors. To address these conflictive observations, we investigated the role of ZNF395 in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the astrocytoma cell line U87-MG under hypoxia. We show that ZNF395 is a target gene of the hypoxia inducible factor HIF-1α. By gene expression analysis, RT-PCR and ELISA, we demonstrated that the siRNA-mediated suppression of ZNF395 impairs the hypoxic induction of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and LIF in U87-MG cells. At ambient oxygen concentrations, ZNF395 had no enhancing effect, indicating that this transcriptional activation by ZNF395 is restricted to hypoxic conditions. Our results suggest that ZNF395 contributes to hypoxia associated inflammation by superactivating proinflammatory cytokines.