Small molecules targeting HIF-1α pathway for cancer therapy in recent years

Hypoxia is a very important feature of tumors, especially for solid tumors, and it was demonstrated highly relevant with aggressive biology, including anti-apoptosis, vasculogenesis and radiation or chemotherapy resistance. Correlatively, hypoxia-inducible factors 1-alpha (HIF-1 alpha), which the wildest contribution of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), plays a crucial role in the adaptation of tumor cells to hypoxia via upregulating the transcription of the oncogene and downregulating the transcription of suppressor gene. This review focus on the HIF-1 alpha regulation including hydroxylation and acetylation, growth factors pathway, heat shock proteins(HSPs), and small molecule inhibitors for HIF-1 alpha directly or indirectly.