A proteomic analysis of proteins bound to the osteocalcin OSE2 sequence of the mouse osteocalcin promoter identified TRPS1 as a regulator of osteocalcin transcription. Mutations in the TRPS1 gene are responsible for human tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome, which is characterized by skeletal and craniofacial abnormalities. TRPS1 has been shown to bind regulatory promoter sequences containing GATA consensus binding sites and to repress transcription of genes involved in chondrocyte differentiation. Here we show that TRPS1 can directly bind the osteocalcin promoter in the presence or absence of Runx2. TRPS1 binds through a GATA binding sequence in the proximal promoter of the osteocalcin gene. The GATA binding site is conserved in mice, humans, and rats, although its location and orientation are not. Mutation of the mouse or human GATA binding sequence abrogates binding of TRPS1 to the osteocalcin promoter. We show that TRPS1 is expressed in osteosarcoma cells and upon induction of osteoblast differentiation in primary mouse bone marrow stromal cells and that TRPS1 regulates the expression of osteocalcin in both cell types. The expression of TRPS1 modulates mineralized bone matrix formation in differentiating osteoblast cells. These data suggest a role for TRPS1 in osteoblast differentiation, in addition to its previously described role in chondrogenesis.Runx2, previously described as CBFA1, OSF2, AML3, or PEPB2␣A, is a runt homology domain transcription factor and plays a key role in driving osteoblast differentiation. Runx2 expression, which occurs in differentiating and mature osteoblasts, is essential for bone formation, as illustrated by the phenotype of Runx2-deficient mice, which lack osteoblasts and have skeletons that are primarily composed of immature chondrocytes (1-3). Haploinsufficiency for RUNX2 in humans results in cleidocranial dysplasia, a syndrome that is characterized by delayed endochondral and intramembranous ossification (4). Runx2 transactivates genes involved in the deposition of bone matrix, e.g. those encoding osteocalcin, collagen IA1, osteopontin, and matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13), and regulation of osteoclastogenesis, e.g. the genes encoding RankL and osteoprotegerin (reviewed in Ref. 5). Although Runx2 is expressed in cells of the osteoblast lineage throughout skeletal development, its levels increase only 1.5-2-fold as preosteoblasts differentiate into mature osteoblasts. Furthermore, the amount of Runx2 bound to target promoters, as measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation, is relatively unchanged throughout differentiation (6), yet the targets it regulates have distinct patterns of expression. These observations suggest that the regulation of Runx2 activity, either by post-translational modification or by the binding of co-regulators, plays a substantial role in defining the Runx2-mediated activation of target genes. Various proteins have been shown to interact with Runx2 and modulate its activity, including Smad3, CREB 2 -binding protein (CBP) HES1, Groucho/TLE, and histone d...