Orphan receptor hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 antagonizes estrogen receptor alpha-mediated induction of human coagulation factor XII gene

Factor XII (FXII) is a liver-specific zymogen involved in the regulation of hemostasis, particularly in the activation of fibrinolysis. Transcription of the FXII gene is stimulated by estrogens through specific interaction of the estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) with an estrogen response element present on FXII promoter. Interestingly, the magnitude of ER alpha induction in liver HepG2 cells is much lower than in NIH3T3 fibroblasts, suggesting that cell-specific factors may modulate ER alpha-dependent trans-activation. Comparative footprinting analysis of FXII promoter (from nucleotides -181 to +49) in liver vs. non-liver cell environments allowed identification of four deoxyribonuclease I-protected sites only in the presence of HepG2 nuclear extracts. Computerized homology search identified sites III and IV as consensus binding sequences for the liver-enriched transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor-4 (HNF-4), formerly an orphan receptor belonging to the superfamily of steroid/thyroid hormone nuclear receptors. In transient transfection assays in NIH3T3 cells, HNF-4 significantly inhibited (70%) estrogen induction of FXII promoter while not affecting basal promoter activity. Conversely, HNF-4 did not inhibit estrogen inducibility of FXII promoter in HepG2 cells due to the high endogenous levels of HNF-4 protein. In gel shift assays, HNF-4, either present in HepG2 nuclear extracts or generated by in vitro transcription/translation, specifically bound FXII promoter. This interaction is strictly required in eliciting the antagonistic effect because in NIH3T3 cells, selective mutations of sites III and IV abrogated HNF-4 inhibitory properties. In the liver-specific environment, the same mutant construct exhibited higher estrogen-dependent inducibility compared with native promoter. Rescue of estrogen responsiveness was also achieved using a dominant negative HNF-4, which counteracted endogenous HNF-4 activity. In conclusion, our findings address a direct role for HNF-4 in modulating estrogen-dependent transcription of the FXII gene promoter.