VHL: Cullin-g the Hypoxic Response

Hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-mediated response to hypoxic conditions is turned off by VHL-mediated ubiquitination of HIF alpha. To achieve this, VHL binds HIF alpha and recruits it to a specific E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, a Cullin-RING-ligase. In this issue of Structure, Nguyen et al. provide a structural view of how VHL engages the ligase in order to inhibit the hypoxic response.