IntroductionThe transforming growth factor- (TGF-) family of growth factors mediates vascular development and regulates endothelial responses to mechanical, inflammatory, and hypoxic stress. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The important role of TGF- in vascular physiology is indicated by defective vasculogenesis and striking vascular inflammation leading to death in mice null for TGF-s, their receptors, or their downstream substrates, the Smad proteins. 3,7,11,12 We recently have shown that exposure of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to hypoxia (1% O 2 ) selectively up-regulates transcription and expression of TGF-2 by as much as 20-fold and induces Smad2, Smad3, and Smad4 to associate with DNA. 9 In vascular endothelium, TGF-2, similar to TGF-1 and TGF-3, is produced in a latent form in which the bioactive, 25-kDa TGF- dimer (mature TGF-) is noncovalently bound to its propeptide (also known as latency-associated peptide [LAP]) and is unavailable for binding to TGF- membrane receptors. 1 An important physiologic regulator of TGF- bioactivation is thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), an extracellular matrix protein that is a member of the TSP family of glycoproteins. [13][14][15] TSP-1, a trimer of disulfide-linked 180-kDa subunits, is secreted from platelet ␣-granules, endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells, and is deposited in extracellular matrix. 16 Binding of TSP-1 to LAP occurs via amino acid sequence K 412 RFK 415 of TSP-1 and amino acid sequence L 54 SKL 57 of LAP, 15,17 and potentially induces a conformational change in LAP that allows interaction of the 25-kDa mature TGF- peptide with its specific membrane receptors. TSP-1 can activate LAPs associated with both latent TGF-1 and -2, 15 and similarities reported between TGF-1-null and TSP-1-null animals 17,18 suggest that TSP-1-mediated TGF- bioactivation is physiologically significant.Mature TGF- can bind to its type I, type II, and type III cell membrane receptors, the first 2 of which are serine/threonine kinases. 19 Once activated by TGF-, the type II receptor transphosphorylates the type I receptor, which then phosphorylates Smad2 or Smad3 (receptor-activated Smads [R-Smads]), which in turn heteromerize with Smad4 (Co-Smad) to translocate to the nucleus. Smad complexes accumulate in the nucleus, where they regulate gene transcription by recruiting transcriptional coactivators or inhibitors to DNA. 19 This cross-talk created by the interplay between Smads and other signaling pathways is largely responsible for the diverse and context-specific effects of the TGF- family of proteins.The Smad signaling pathway was recently shown to interact with the transacting protein complex hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), which is a well-characterized transcription factor complex that regulates hypoxia-driven gene expression. 20,21 HIF-1 binds DNA as a heterodimer of 2 basic helix-loop-helix proteins, HIF-1␣ and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT, or HIF-1). 22,23 Under normoxic conditions, HIF-1␣ is ra...