Mint3 itself is expressed ubiquitously, but Mint3-mediated HIF-1 activation is limited to some types of cells, such as cancer cells, macrophages, and cancer-associated fibroblasts, mainly due to the necessity of matrix metalloproteinase 14 expression, which supports stable interactions between Mint3 and FIH-1 in cells [7, 12–16]. Here, MMP14 is linked to cancer.