Abstract
von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) disease is a hereditary cancer syndrome that is characterized by the development of multiple vascular tumors and is caused by inactivation of the von Hippel–Lindau protein (pVHL). Here we show that pVHL, through its β-domain, binds directly to hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), thereby targeting HIF for ubiquitination in an α-domain-dependent manner. This is the first function to be ascribed to the pVHL β-domain. Furthermore, we provide the first direct evidence that pVHL has a function analogous to that of an F-box protein, namely, to recruit substrates to a ubiquitination machine. These results strengthen the link between overaccumulation of HIF and development of VHL disease.
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Acknowledgements
We thank C. Stebbins for purified pVHL/elongin C/elongin B complexes and H. Franklin Bunn and M. Meyerson for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the NIH and from the Murray Foundation. M.O. is a Fellow of the National Cancer Institute of Canada. W.G.K. is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute assistant investigator.
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to W.G.K.
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Ohh, M., Park, C., Ivan, M. et al. Ubiquitination of hypoxia-inducible factor requires direct binding to the β-domain of the von Hippel–Lindau protein. Nat Cell Biol 2, 423–427 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35017054
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35017054
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