Dimethyloxaloylglycine induces pexophagy in a HIF-2α dependent manner involving autophagy receptor p62.

Peroxisomes are metabolically active oxygen demanding organelles with a high abundance of oxidases making it vulnerable to low oxygen levels such as hypoxic conditions. However, the exact mechanism of peroxisome degradation in hypoxic condition remains elusive. In order to study the mechanism of peroxisome degradation in hypoxic condition, we use Dimethyloxaloylglycine (DMOG), a cell-permeable prolyl-4-hydroxylase inhibitor, which mimics hypoxic condition by stabilizing hypoxia-inducible factors. Here we report that DMOG degraded peroxisomes by selectively activating pexophagy in a HIF-2α dependent manner involving autophagy receptor p62. Furthermore, DMOG not only increased peroxisome turnover by pexophagy but also reduced HIF-2α dependent peroxisome proliferation at the transcriptional level. Taken together, our data suggest that hypoxic condition is a negative regulator for peroxisome abundance through increasing pexophagy and decreasing peroxisome proliferation in HIF-2α dependent manner.