HIF1A and neoplasm: Furthermore, although initial research linked 2-HG with the upregulation of hypoxia-induced factor 1α (HIF-1α) [52,53], a transcription factor activated by hypoxia and associated with tumor neovascularization, viability and growth [54], later studies questioned this link supporting the downregulation of HIF-1α by 2-HG [55,56] or supported a conditional regulation of HIF-1α depending on tissue stiffness [27].