Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression is induced by hypoxia (8% O 2 ) via the PAI-1 promoter region ؊175/؊159 containing a hypoxia response element (HRE-2) binding the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and an adjacent response element (HRE-1) binding a so far unknown factor. The aim of the present study was to identify this factor and to investigate its role in the regulation of PAI-1 expression. It was found by supershift assays that the upstream stimulatory factor-2a (USF-2a) bound mainly to the HRE-1 of the PAI-1 promoter and to a lesser extent to HRE-2. Overexpression
IntroductionThe tissue-type and the urokinase-type plasminogen activators (tPA and uPA) are serine proteases converting the inactive zymogen plasminogen to the active endopeptidase plasmin. 1 The tPA and uPA activity is regulated, in part, by plasminogen activator inhibitors (PAIs). 2 Among 2 identified inhibitors, PAI-1 and PAI-2, PAI-1 is the primary physiologic inhibitor of both tPA and uPA. 3 PAI-1 is a 50-kd glycoprotein from the serpin superfamily. 4 It can be produced by platelets, vascular endothelial cells, 5 vascular smooth muscle cells, 6 and several nonvascular cell types, 7,8 including hepatocytes. 9 PAI-1 has also been identified as a component of the extracellular matrix. 10 The plasminogen activator inhibitors are involved in many functions, both under normal and pathological conditions, including fibrinolysis, extracellular matrix turnover, and fibrosis. 11 PAI-1 also participates in wound healing and cancer metastasis. 12,13 Certain pathophysiologic processes in which PAI-1 levels increase (eg, prethrombotic events, hemorrhage, and thrombus formation) are associated with hypoxia. PAI-1 gene expression was induced by mild hypoxia (8% O 2 ) via an O 2 -responsive promoter sequence (Ϫ175/Ϫ158) containing hypoxia response element-1 (HRE-1, Ϫ175/Ϫ168) and hypoxia response element-2 (HRE-2, Ϫ165/Ϫ158) in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. 14 HRE-2 was shown to bind the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and thus to be most critical for the increase in PAI-1 gene expression under hypoxia. The HRE-1 sequence was shown to bind a factor other than HIF-1.The HRE-1 and also HRE-2 include a CACGTG-like sequence that can be recognized by transcription factors containing basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) domains. Besides HIF-1 consisting of the bHLH-PAS (Per-ARNT-Sim) domain proteins HIF-1␣ and HIF-1 (ARNT, or arylhdrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator), 15 the bHLH leucine zipper (bHLH-zip) proteins, upstream stimulatory factors (USF), 16 or the Myc/Max 16,17 transcription factors also can bind to the CACGTG sequence. USF was initially identified in HeLa cells as a protein binding the CACGTG sequence located immediately upstream of the TATA sequence of the adenovirus major late promoter, 16 thereby activating transcription. 18 Two different ubiquituously expressed forms of USF (USF-1 and USF-2) with different molecular weights have been identified; however, their relative abundance varies in different cell types. 19,20 The US...