The up regulation of phosphofructokinase1 (PFK1) protein during chemically induced hypoxia is mediated by the hypoxia-responsive internal ribosome entry site (IRES) element, present in its 5′untranslated region

The presence of a hypoxia responsive IRES element, in the 5′UTR of the PFK1 was established to be the possible mechanism responsible for the up regulation of the PFK1 protein. Our data provides an interesting mechanism that may explain the increased glycolytic capacity of the astrocytes after brain hypoxia.