The hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is a heterodimer DNA-binding transcription factor that can bind with specific nuclear cofactors and activate a variety of genes to optimize the oxygen utilization under hypoxia conditions. The American oncologist William G. Kaelin Jr., the British medical scientist Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and the American medical scientist Gregg L. Semenza won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how cells sense and adapt to the oxygen availability where the HIF plays an important role. This paper reviews the research progress of the HIF in the treatment of renal anemia, tumor, cardiovascular disease, as well as its significance to human health.

hypoxia-inducible factor  /  Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019  /  renal anemia  /  tumor  /  cardiovascular disease