Tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2), a serine protease inhibitor abundant in the extracellular matrix, is expressed in high amounts in low-grade, non-invasive glioma cells but in low amounts in high-grade, highly invasive glioma cells. Overexpression of TFPI-2 by highly invasive glioma cells reduces their invasiveness and thus may be useful in cancer therapy. The mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation of TFPI-2 are not well elucidated. We previously reported that the -312 to +1 region of TFPI-2 was critical for the minimal, inducible regulation of TFPI-2 in gliomas. This region harbors sites for several transcription factors, including SP1 (-192 to -183 and -135 to -128), AP-1 (-310 to -300, -213 to -204, and -163 to -154), NF-κB (-229 to -221), an NF-κB-like site (-291 to -281), and Lyf-1 (-260 to -252). Here we transiently transfected low-grade Hs683 glioma cells with mutant constructs to clarify the role of these transcription factors in TFPI-2 regulation. Addition of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol, IFN-γ, or IFN-α induced the expression of TFPI-2 wild-type promoter construct as well as TFPI-2 protein and mRNA in Hs683 cells. Mutations at either of two AP-1 sites (-310 to -300 and -163 to -154) or either of two SP1 sites (-192 to -183 and -135 to -128) resulted in reduced TFPI-2 activity, regardless of the presence of stimulator compounds, and reduction in DNA-protein binding (by electrophoretic mobility shift assay).

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