Since disturbance of angiogenesis predisposes to ischemic injuries, attempts to promote angiogenesis have been made to improve clinical outcomes of patients with many ischemic disorders. While hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) stimulate vascular remodeling and angiogenesis, hyperlipidemia impairs angiogenesis in response to various pro-angiogenic factors. However, it remains uncertain how HIFs regulate angiogenesis under hyperlipidemia. Here, we report that exposure to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) suppressed in vitro angiogenesis of human brain microvascular endothelial cells. Whereas LDL exposure diminished expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α induced by hypoxia, it inhibited DMOG- and TNFα-induced HIF-1α and HIF-2α expression in normoxia. Notably, in both hypoxia and normoxia, LDL markedly reduced expression of HIF-1β, a constitutively stable HIF subunit, an event associated with NF-κB inactivation. Moreover, knockdown of HIF-1β down-regulated HIF-1α and HIF-2α expression, in association with increased HIF-1α hydroxylation and 20S proteasome activity after LDL exposure. Significantly, the proteasome inhibitor BSc2118 prevented angiogenesis attenuation by LDL through restoring expression of HIFs. Together, these findings argue that HIF-1β might act as a novel cross-link between the HIF and NF-κB pathways in suppression of angiogenesis by LDL, while proteasome inhibitors might promote angiogenesis by reactivating this signaling cascade under hyperlipidemia.
Keywords: HIF; NF-κB; angiogenesis; low-density lipoprotein; proteasome inhibitor.