THE FETUS DEVELOPS IN HYPOXIA (3–5% O2), which is essential for the vasculature. Vascular growth, in turn, is required for lung development (11). For these processes, the essential role of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is increasingly apparent. Genetic inactivation of either HIF-1 or -2 in mice leads to fetal or neonatal lethality because of major developmental defects...