Transcription factor YY1 enhances the stemness of lung cancer cells by stabilizing hypoxia factor HIF-1α under a hypoxic microenvironment

The hypoxic microenvironment can facilitate the tumor progression, and transcription factor YY1 holds promoting effects in various tumors. This work aims to investigate whether YY1 is involved in hypoxia-induced stemness of lung cancer cells. We showed that hypoxic microenvironment induced the expression of HIF-1 alpha and YY1, and the stemness of lung cancer cells, which was attenuated by YY1 knockdown. Additionally, we found that YY1 regulates the hypoxia-induced stemness in a HIF-1 alpha-dependent manner, but independent on p53 expression. Further analysis revealed that YY1 physically interacted with HIF-1 alpha protein and stabilized HIF-1 alpha protein. Our work indicates a novel YY1/HIF-1 alpha axis regulating the stemness of lung cancer cells.

Automated summary

The research revealed that in a hypoxic microenvironment, YY1 interacts with HIF-1 alpha to regulate the stemness of lung cancer cells.