Research progress on the regulatory effect of hypoxia-inducible factors on epithelial mesenchymal transformation through the Notch signaling pathway
Hypoxia-inducible factors(HIFs)are key protein members in tumour acute and chronic hy-poxia response with special biological functions.HIFs are highly expressed in a variety of tumors,including hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and can promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)process of tumor cells.HCC has the characteristic of typical aggressive growth,which are closely associated with EMT.The Notch signaling pathway is a highly conserved signal transduction pathway in biological evolution,which is involved in the EMT process of cells and plays an important role in the promotion of tumour growth and migration by HIFs.HIFs may exert effects directly or indirectly on tumor cell EMT processes including HCC through the Notch signaling pathway.This article provided a brief review of the regulatory effects of HIFs on tumor cell EMT,especially on HCC EMT,and the possible role of Notch signaling pathway in this process.