Elastic fibers are one of the major structural components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in human connective tissues. Among these fibers, microfibrillar-associated protein 4 (MFAP4) is one of the most important microfibril-associated glycoproteins. MFAP4 has been found to bind with elastin microfibrils and interact directly with fibrillin-1, and then aid in elastic fiber formation. However, the regulations of the human MFAP4 gene are not so clear. Therefore, in this study, we firstly aimed to analyze and identify the promoter region of the human MFAP4 gene. The results indicate that the human MFAP4 promoter is a TATA-less promoter with tissue- and species-specific properties. Moreover, the promoter can be up-regulated by retinol and coenzyme Q10 (coQ10) in Detroit 551 cells.
Keywords: TATA-less promoter; elastic fibers; fibroblast cells; microfibrillar-associated protein 4 (MFAP4).