Oxygen deprivation triggers upregulation of early growth response-1 by the receptor for advanced glycation end products

Myocardial infarction, stroke, and venous thromboembolism are characterized by oxygen deprivation. In hypoxia, biological responses are activated that evoke tissue damage. Rapid activation of early growth response-1 in hypoxia upregulates fundamental inflammatory and prothrombotic stress genes. We probed the mechanisms mediating regulation of early growth response-1 and demonstrate that hypoxia stimulates brisk generation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) by endothelial cells. Via AGE interaction with their chief signaling receptor, RAGE, membrane translocation of protein kinase C-beta II occurs, provoking phosphorylation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase and increased transcription of early growth response-1 and its downstream target genes. These findings identify RAGE as a master regulator of tissue stress elicited by hypoxia and highlight this receptor as a central therapeutic target to suppress the tissue injury-provoking effects of oxygen deprivation.