To help explain these results, Band and his colleagues looked to the gene expression profiles obtained from their previous studies of blind mole - rats in hypoxic environments. (sciencedaily.com)
Professor Ali Tavassoli, who led the study with colleague Dr. Ishna Mistry, explains: «In an effort to better understand the role of HIF - 1 in cancer, and to demonstrate the potential for inhibiting this protein in cancer therapy, we engineered a human cell line with an additional genetic circuit that produces the HIF - 1 inhibiting molecule when placed in a hypoxic environment. (sciencedaily.com)
However, in a hypoxic environment, it is activated and initiates a series of events to combat physiological effects of low oxygen. (sciencedaily.com)