Characterization of a putative cis-regulatory element that controls transcriptional activity of the pig uroplakin II gene promoter

► The sequences of −604 to −84 bp of the pUPII promoter contained the region of a putative negative cis-regulatory element. ► The core promoter was located in the 5F-1. ► Transcription factor HNF4 can directly bind in the pUPII core promoter region, which plays a critical role in controlling promoter activity. ► These features of the pUPII promoter are fundamental to development of a target-specific vector.