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Tissue hypoxia not only occurs under pathological conditions but is also an important microenvironmental factor that is critical for normal embryonic development. Hypoxia-inducible factors HIF-1 and HIF-2 are oxygen-sensitive basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, which regulate biological processes that facilitate both oxygen delivery and cellular adaptation to oxygen deprivation. HIFs consist of an oxygen-sensitive α-subunit, HIF-α, and a constitutively expressed β-subunit, HIF-β, and regulate the expression of genes that are involved in energy metabolism, angiogenesis, erythropoiesis and iron metabolism, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and other biological processes. Under conditions of normal Po₂, HIF-α is hydroxylated and targeted for rapid proteasomal degradation by the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) E3-ubiquitin ligase. When cells experience hypoxia, HIF-α is stabilized and either dimerizes with HIF-β in the …