HIF-1α is a Potential Molecular Target for Herbal Medicine to Treat Diseases

Drug Des Devel Ther. 2020 Nov 16:14:4915-4949. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S274980. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

HIF-1α is an important factor regulating oxygen balance in mammals, and its expression is closely related to various physiological and pathological conditions of the body. Because HIF-1α plays an important role in the occurrence and development of cancer and other diseases, it has become an enduring research hotspot. At the same time, natural medicines and traditional Chinese medicine compounds have amazing curative effects in various diseases related to HIF-1 subtype due to their unique pharmacological effects and more effective ingredients. Therefore, in this article, we first outline the structure of HIF-1α and the regulation related to its expression, then introduce various diseases closely related to HIF-1α, and finally focus on the regulation of natural medicines and compound Chinese medicines through various pathways. This will help us understand HIF-1α systematically, and use HIF-1α as a target to discover more natural medicines and traditional Chinese medicines that can treat related diseases.

Keywords: HIF-1α; disease; natural medicine; traditional Chinese medicine.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / chemistry
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / metabolism
  • Liver Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Liver Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal
  • HIF1A protein, human
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 81503254); Sichuan Major Science and Technology Project (no. 2018TZDZX0007); Research Promotion Plan for Xinglin Scholars in Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (no. QNXZ2019018; BSH2018006) and Scientific research project of Sichuan Educational Commission (no. 16ZA0455).