Hypoxia enhances LPA-induced HIF-1α and VEGF expression: Their inhibition by resveratrol

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive phospholipid that is involved in various cellular events, including tumor invasion and metastasis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of LPA and hypoxia on HIF-1α and VEGF expression, as well as the effect of resveratrol on LPA and hypoxia-induced HIF-1α and VEGF expression and human ovarian cancer cell migration. Our results show that LPA treatment under hypoxia increases HIF-1α protein level, which leads to increased expression of VEGF protein and mRNA. These increases in HIF-1α and VEGF expression are dramatically attenuated by resveratrol. The underlying mechanism of inhibition of HIF-1α expression by resveratrol seems to be associated with both inactivation of p42/p44 MAPK and p70S6K, as well as enhanced degradation of HIF-1α protein, resulting in profound decrease in VEGF expression and cell migration. Collectively, these results show that LPA under hypoxic condition enhances cell migration through the sequential induction of HIF-1α and VEGF, and that this enhancement is efficiently blocked by resveratrol.