Chapter 4 - The Hypoxic Response and Aging

Abstract

Cells, tissues, and organisms need to adapt to varying oxygen availability in order to survive. As a consequence, most organisms have evolved a response to low-oxygen environments, dubbed the hypoxic response. In mammals and most multicellular eukaryotes, the primary transcription factors responsible for this response are the hypoxia-inducible factors. Activation of these hypoxia-inducible factors protects from the damage associated with low oxygen and leads to changes in metabolism, vasculature, and cell survival. Recent work also suggests that the hypoxic response pathway can play an important role in aging. This chapter discusses the role of the hypoxic response pathway in protecting cells and organisms from low oxygen and how this pathway can act to affect aging and disease. We will also discuss the interactions between the hypoxic response and other aging-related pathways and how these pathways fit into aging research as a whole.