3,3′-Diindolylmethane reduces levels of HIF-1α and HIF-1 activity in hypoxic cultured human cancer cells

3,3′-Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic phytochemical derived from the metabolism of indoles found at high concentrations in cruciferous vegetables. We have previously shown that DIM exhibits anti-angiogenic properties in cultured vascular endothelial cells and in Matrigel plug assays in rodents. In the present study, we demonstrate that DIM reduces the level of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α in hypoxic tumor cell lines, as well as HIF-1 transcriptional activity as measured by a reporter assay. Moreover, DIM inhibited the expression of HIF-1-responsive endogenous genes, resulting in the reduced expression of key hypoxia responsive factors, VEGF, furin, enolase-1, glucose transporter-1 and phosphofructokinase. DIM reduced the level of HIF-1α in hypoxic cells by increasing the rate of the prolylhydroxylase- and proteasome-mediated degradation of HIF-1α, and by decreasing the rate of HIF-1α transcription. Using enzyme kinetics studies, we established that DIM interacts with the oligomycin-binding site on the F0 transmembrane component of mitochondrial F1F0-ATPase. The contributions of the resulting increases in levels of ROS and O2 in hypoxic cells to the inhibitory effects of DIM on HIF-1α expression are discussed. These studies are the first to show that DIM can decrease the accumulation and activity of the key angiogenesis regulatory factor, HIF-1α, in hypoxic tumor cells.