Egl Nine Homolog 2 (EGLN2)

EGLN2 encodes an enzyme responsible for this posttranslational modification. Multiple alternatively spliced variants, encoding the same protein, have been identified.In mammalian cells, they showed that the HIF-prolyl hydroxylases are represented by 3 proteins with a conserved 2-histidine-1-carboxylate iron coordination motif at the catalytic site. HIF is a transcriptional complex that plays a central role in mammalian oxygen homeostasis. The genes encoding these proteins were cloned and termed PHD1, PHD2, and PHD3 by the authors. Direct modulation of recombinant enzyme activity by graded hypoxia, iron chelation, and cobaltous ions mirrored the characteristics of HIF induction in vivo, fulfilling requirements for these enzymes being oxygen sensors that regulate HIF.