Hypoxia and acidosis occur in a wide variety of physiological and pathological settings that include muscle stress, tumour development and ischaemic disorders. A central element in the adaptive response to cellular hypoxia is HIF (hypoxia-inducible factor), a transcription factor that activates an array of genes implicated in oxygen homeostasis, tumour vascularization and ischaemic preconditioning. HIF is activated by hypoxia, but undergoes degradation by the VHL (von Hippel-Lindau) tumour suppressor protein in the presence of oxygen. Here, we demonstrate that hypoxia induction or normoxic acidosis can neutralize the function of VHL by triggering its nucleolar sequestration, a regulatory mechanism of protein function that is observed rarely. VHL is confined to nucleoli until neutral pH conditions are reinstated. Nucleolar sequestration of VHL enables HIF to evade destruction in the presence of oxygen and activate its target genes. Our findings suggest that an increase in hydrogen ions elicits a transient and reversible loss of VHL function by promoting its nucleolar sequestration.

Sporadic clear cell renal carcinomas frequently harbor inactivating mutations in exon 2 of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene. Here, we examine the effect of the loss of exon 2-encoded ␤-domain function on VHL biochemical properties. Exon 2-encoded residues are required for VHL-mediated NEDD8 conjugation on cullin-2 and assembly with hypoxia-inducible factor ␣ (HIF␣) and fibronectin. These residues are not essential for VHL ability to assemble with elongin BC/cullin-2, to display E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro and to confer energy-dependent nuclear import properties to a reporter protein. Localization studies in HIF-1␣-null embryonic cells suggest that exon 2-encoded ␤-domain mediates transcription-dependent nuclear/cytoplasmic shuttling of VHL independently of assembly with HIF-1␣ and oxygen concentration. Exon 3-encoded ␣؊helical domain is required for VHL complex formation with BC/cullin-2 and E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, for binding to HIF␣/fibronectin, but this domain is not essential for transcription-dependent nuclear/cytoplasmic trafficking. VHL ؊/؊ renal carcinoma cells expressing ␤؊do-main mutants failed to produce an extracellular fibronectin matrix and to degrade HIF␣, which accumulated exclusively in the nucleus of normoxic cells. These results demonstrate that exon 2-encoded residues are involved in two independent functions: substrate protein recognition and transcription-dependent nuclear/cytoplasmic trafficking. They also suggest that ␤-domain mutations inactivate VHL function differently than ␣-domain mutations, potentially providing an explanation for the relationship between different mutations of the VHL gene and clinical outcome.

Inactivating mutations of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene cause the VHL cancer syndrome and sporadic renal clear cell carcinoma. VHL engages in a nucleocytoplasmic shuttle, which is required for its function. Here, we pursue our investigation to identify mechanisms by which VHL-green fluorescent protein (VHL-GFP) is exported from the nucleus. We show that nuclear export of VHL-GFP in living cells requires ongoing RNA polymerase II activity, and is mediated by mechanisms that are temperature-sensitive and energy-dependent. In vitro nuclear export of VHL-GFP is inhibited by nuclear pore-specific lectins, requires ATP hydrolysis and polyadenylated mRNAs, and occurs with kinetics that are similar to those of proteins containing a nuclear export signal. Biochemical fractionation has revealed that nuclear export of VHL-GFP occurs by way of a Ran-dependent pathway. Size exclusion column chromatography and deletion mutant analysis suggest that VHL-GFP does not require assembly with one of its associated proteins, cullin-2, to engage in nuclear export. These results demonstrate that nuclear export of VHL-GFP is Ran-mediated and ATP hydrolysis-dependent. They also suggest that sequences outside the elongin C binding box may function as a nuclear export domain, potentially providing a novel role for this region of VHL frequently mutated in renal cell carcinoma.