During adaptation to hypoxic and hyperoxic conditions, the genes involved i
n glucose metabolism are upregulated. To probe involvement of the transcrip
tion factor hypoxia-induced factor-1 (HIF-1) in hexokinase (HK) II expressi
on in human pulmonary cells, A549 cells and small-airway epithelial cells (
SAECs) were exposed to stimuli such as hypoxia, deferoxamine (DFO), and met
al ions. The largest increase in HK-II (20-fold for mRNA and 2.5-fold for e
nzymatic activity) was observed in A549 cells when exposed to DFO. All stim
uli selectively increased the 5.5-kb rather than 4-kb transcript in A549 ce
lls. Cycloheximide and actinomycin D inhibited these responses. In addition
, cells were transfected with luciferase reporter constructs driven by the
full-length HK-II 5'-regulatory region (4.0 kb) or various deletions of tha
t region. A549 cells transfected with the 4.0-kb construct and exposed to h
ypoxia or DFO increased their luciferase activity 7- and 1.0-fold, respecti
vely, indicating that HK-II induction is, at least in part, due to increase
d gene transcription. Sixty percent of the inducible activity of the 4.0-kb
construct was shown to reside within the proximal 0.5 kb. Additionally, co
transfection with a stable HIF-1 mutant and the 4.0-kb promoter construct r
esulted in increased luciferase activity under normoxic conditions. These r
esults strongly suggest that HK-II is selectively regulated in pulmonary ce
lls by a HIF-1-dependent mechanism.