Up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor expression in a rat glioma is conferred by two distinct hypoxia-driven mechanisms.

Up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression is a major event leading to neovascularization in malignant gliomas. Hypoxia is believed to be the crucial environmental stimulus for this up-regulation. To critically assess this hypothesis, we asked whether the mechanisms defined previously for hypoxia-induced VEGF expression in vitro are similarly involved and sufficient for up-regulation of VEGF gene expression in vivo, using a lacZ reporter gene under the control of VEGF regulatory sequences in an experimental glioma model. Inclusion of the binding site for hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF 1) in the 5' regulatory sequences used in the hybrid gene produced weak beta-galactosidase staining in a special tumor cell subtype, the so-called perinecrotic palisading (PNP) cells that flank necrotic regions within the tumor. Deletion of the HIF 1 binding site abolished reporter gene expression in the PNP cells, indicating that transcriptional activation of VEGF expression in gliomas is mediated by HIF 1. Inclusion of 3' untranslated sequences from the VEGF gene in the reporter constructs resulted in an increased beta-galactosidase staining in the PNP cells, suggesting that mRNA stabilization also contributes to VEGF up-regulation in glioblastoma cells growing as solid tumors. Combination of the 5' flanking region including the HIF 1 site along with 3' untranslated sequences produced increased levels of beta-galactosidase expression in PNP cells. EF 5 immunostaining for regions of low oxygen partial pressure covered the same PNP cells that were stained for beta-galactosidase. Collectively, the data provide experimental evidence that VEGF gene expression is activated in a distinct tumor cell subpopulation, the perinecrotic palisading cells of gliomas, by two distinct hypoxia-driven regulatory mechanisms.