Article

  • The EMBO Journal (2006) 25, 1231 - 1241
  • doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601025

Published online: 2 March 2006

Metastasis-associated protein 1 enhances stability of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha protein by recruiting histone deacetylase 1

Young-Gun Yoo1, Gu Kong2 and Mi-Ock Lee1

  1. College of Pharmacy and Bio-MAX Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  2. Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to:

Mi-Ock Lee, College of Pharmacy and Bio-MAX Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea. Tel.: +82 2 880 9331; Fax: +82 2 872 1795; E-mail: molee@snu.ac.kr

Received 11 October 2005; Accepted 6 February 2006


The expression of metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) correlates well with tumor metastases; however, the associated molecular mechanism is not fully understood. Here, we explored the possibility of cross-talk between MTA1 and hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), a key regulator of angiogenic factors. We observed that the expression of MTA1 was strongly induced under hypoxia in breast cancer cell lines such as MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. When MTA1 was overexpressed, the transcriptional activity and stability of HIF-1alpha protein were enhanced. MTA1 and HIF-1alpha are physically associated in vivo and they were localized completely in the nucleus when coexpressed. MTA1 induced the deacetylation of HIF-1alpha by increasing the expression of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1). MTA1 counteracted to the action of acetyltransferase, ARD1, and it did not stabilize the HIF-1alpha mutant that lacks the acetylation site, K532R. These results indicate that acetylation is the major target of MTA1/HDAC1 function. Collectively, our data provide evidence of a positive cross-talk between HIF-1alpha and MTA1, which is mediated by HDAC1 recruitment, and indicate a close connection between MTA1-associated metastasis and HIF-1-induced tumor angiogenesis.

  • Keywords:

    • HDAC1,
    • HIF-1alpha,
    • hypoxia,
    • metastasis,
    • MTA1