Mechanistic insights into kidney cancer Many clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) have alterations to the gene encoding the von Hippel-Lindau protein (VHL). VHL is a ubiquitin ligase that degrades target proteins when they are prolyl-hydroxylated. Zhang et al. performed a genome-wide search for VHL target (see the Perspective by Sanchez and Simon). They identified ZHX2, a protein with structural motifs that indicate DNA binding. ZHX2 has been implicated in tumor suppression. Loss of ZHX2 inhibited signaling through the transcription factor NF-κB, and ZHX2 bound to many NF-κB target genes. Depletion of ZHX2 slowed growth of ccRCC cells in vitro and in a mouse model. Science , this issue p. 290 ; see also p. 226