HIF-2α regulates NANOG expression in human embryonic stem cells following hypoxia and reoxygenation through the interaction with an Oct-Sox cis regulatory element

Low O2 tension is beneficial for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) maintenance but the mechanism of regulation is unknown. HIF-2α was found to bind directly to predicted hypoxic response elements (HREs) in the proximal promoter of OCT4, NANOG and SOX2 only in hESCs cultured under hypoxia (5% O2). This binding induced an array of histone modifications associated with gene transcription while a heterochromatic state existed at atmospheric O2. Interestingly, an enhanced euchromatic state was found when hESCs were exposed to hypoxia followed by 72 hours reoxygenation. This was sustained by HIF-2α which enhanced stemness by binding to an oct-sox cis-regulatory element in the NANOG promoter. Thus, these data have uncovered a novel role of HIF-2α as a direct regulator of key transcription factors controlling self-renewal in hESCs but also in the induction of epigenetic modifications ensuring a euchromatic conformation which enhances the regenerative potential of these cells.