Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 is an essential component of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 signaling pathway

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is an enzyme that transfers one or two methyl groups to the arginine residues of histones or non-histone proteins, and that plays critical roles in cellular processes as diverse as receptor signaling and gene expression. Furthermore, PRMT5 is highly expressed in tumors, where it may be associated with tumor growth. Although much research has been conducted on PRMT5, little is known regarding its role in adaption to hypoxia. As hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a key player in hypoxic response, we examined the possible involvement of PRMT5 in the HIF-1 signaling pathway. Of the siRNAs targeting PRMT1–8, only PRMT5 siRNA attenuated the hypoxic induction of HIF-1α in A549 cells, and this result was reproducible in all three cancer cell lines examined. PRMT5 knock-down also repressed the promoter activities and the transcript levels of HIF-1-governed genes. Mechanistically, de novo synthesis of HIF-1α protein was reduced in PRMT5-knocked-down A549 cells, and this was rescued by PRMT5 restoration. In contrast, HIF-1α transcription, RNA processing, and protein stability were unaffected by PRMT5 knock-down. Furthermore, PRMT5 was found to be essential for the HIF-1α translation initiated by the 5′ UTR of HIF-1α mRNA. Given our results and previous reports, we believe that PRMT5 probably promotes tumor growth by stimulating cell proliferation and by participating in the construction of a tumor-favorable microenvironment via HIF-1 activation.

► HIF-1α is expressed PRMT5-dependently in hypoxic cancer cells.
► The HIF-1 regulation of hypoxia-induced genes is attenuated in PRMT5-knocked-down cells.
► The de novo synthesis of HIF-1α depends on PRMT5.
► PRMT5 is involved in the HIF-1α translation initiated by 5′ UTR of HIF-1α mRNA.