The development of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) depends on their local microenvironment and the induction of neovascularization is a decisive step in tumor progression, since the growth of solid tumors is limited by nutrient and oxygen supply. Hypoxia is the critical factor that induces transcription of the hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) encoding gene HIF1A and HIF-1α protein accumulation to promote angiogenesis. However, the basis for the transcriptional regulation of HIF1A expression in HCC is still unclear. Here, we show that Bclaf1 levels are highly correlated with HIF-1α levels in HCC tissues, and that knockdown of Bclaf1 in HCC cell lines significantly reduces hypoxia-induced HIF1A expression. Furthermore, we found that Bclaf1 promotes HIF1A transcription via its bZIP domain, leading subsequently to increased transcription of the HIF-1α downstream targets VEGFA, TGFB, and EPO that in turn promote HCC-associated angiogenesis and thus survival and thriving of HCC cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that HIF-1α levels and microvessel density decrease after the shRNA-mediated Bclaf1 knockdown in xenograft tumors. Finally, we found that Bclaf1 levels increase in hypoxia in a HIF-1α dependent manner. Therefore, our study identifies Bclaf1 as a novel positive regulator of HIF-1α in the hypoxic microenvironment, providing new incentives for promoting Bcalf1 as a potential therapeutic target for an anti-HCC strategy.

Our findings suggest that Bclaf1 affects HCC progression by manipulating c-MYC mRNA stability and that the Hsp90α/Bclaf1/c-Myc axis might be a potential target for therapeutic intervention in HCC.