Zf9/core promoter-binding protein, a Kruppel-like zinc finger transcription factor is induced early in hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and transactivates TGF-Ղ1 and TGF-Ղ receptors, types I and II in response to fibrogenic stimuli. To understand the role of Zf9 as the regulator of liver cirrhosis, 3kb sized zf9 promoter was cloned from human genomic DNA and generated 11 kinds of zf9 reporter constructs which were 3kb, 2.4kb, 2.2kb, 1.8kb, 1.6kb, 1.5kb, 1.1kb, 1.0kb, 0.9kb, 0.8kb, 0.5kb-sized respectively. When PGF2Ձ was treated as the fibrogenic stimulus, zf9 promoter was activated in HSC-T6 cells (an SV40-immortalized rat HSC line). Also, zf9 promoter was characterized in LX2, the human hepatic stellate cell which was pretreated by EGCG before PGF2Ձ treatment to investigate the preventive effect of EGCG for liver cirrhosis. EGCG inhibited zf9 promoter activity at (-)979∼(+)155 region in LX2 cell. (Cancer Prev Res 12, 112-119, 2007)

Keywords: Zf9 promoter, Liver cirrhosis, TGF-Ղ,1, HSC-T6, LX2