Hypoxia reduces HNF4α/MODY1 protein expression in pancreatic β-cells by activating AMP-activated protein kinase.

Hypoxia plays a role in the deterioration of β-cell function. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) has an important role in pancreatic β-cells, and mutations of the human HNF4A gene cause a type of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY1). However, it remains unclear whether hypoxia affects the expression of HNF4α in β-cells. Here, we report that hypoxia reduces HNF4α protein expression in β-cells. Hypoxia-inducible factor was not involved in the down-regulation of HNF4α under hypoxic conditions. The down-regulation of HNF4α was dependent on the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and the reduction of HNF4α protein expression by metformin, an AMPK activator, and hypoxia was inhibited by the overexpression of a kinase-dead (KD) form of AMPKα2. In addition, hypoxia decreased the stability of the HNF4α protein, and the down-regulation of HNF4α was sensitive to proteasome inhibitors. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of KD-AMPKα2 improved insulin secretion in metformin-treated islets, hypoxic islets, and ob/ob mouse islets. These results suggest that down-regulation of HNF4α could be of importance in β-cell dysfunction by hypoxia.