Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a previously unrecognized role played by the gene HIF-1 as it helps cell survive when a lack of oxygen decreases production of an energy-rich molecule called ATP and increases production of toxic molecules. ATP supplies energy the cell needs to perform each of its many chemical reactions and tasks, and in this way acts as the “currency” for the cell’s energy economy. A report on the work, done with mouse cells genetically altered to lack the HIF-1 gene, appears in the March 8 issue of Cell Metabolism.
