HIF1A and cancer: In cancer cells, HIF-1α is up-regulated and, in turn, activates the expression of glycolytic enzymes (such as LDH) and glucose transporters (such as GLUT-1), and down-regulates the mitochondrial activity through several mechanisms, in particular by inhibiting the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA via the activation of the gene encoding pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 [7-10].