Disease relevance of HIG2

• In cultured cells, HIG1 and HIG2 expression is induced by hypoxia and by glucose deprivation, but their expression is not induced by serum deprivation, UV, or ionizing radiation [1].
• ELISA analysis of clinical samples identified secretion of HIG2 protein into the plasma of RCC patients even at an early stage of tumor development, whereas it was detected at significantly lower levels in healthy volunteers or patients with chronic glomerulonephritis [2].
• Hypoxia-inducible protein 2 (HIG2), a novel diagnostic marker for renal cell carcinoma and potential target for molecular therapy [2].

High impact information on HIG2

• Small interfering RNA effectively inhibited expression of HIG2 in human RCC cells that endogenously expressed high levels of the protein and significantly suppressed cell growth [2].
• Moreover, addition of polyclonal anti-HIG2 antibody into culture medium induced apoptosis in RCC-derived cell lines [2].
• The putative HIG1 and HIG2 open reading frames are expressed in cells, as confirmed by epitope tagging [1].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of HIG2

• In addition, tumor xenografts derived from human cervical cancer cells display increased expression of HIG1 and HIG2 when they are deprived of oxygen [1].

References