Down-regulation of murine tissue factor pathway inhibitor mRNA by endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in vitro and in vivo.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is the protease inhibitor that regulates the extrinsic coagulation pathway initiated by the factor VIIa/TF complex. In this study, we first investigated tissue distribution of TFPI mRNA in the mouse and found that TFPI mRNA expression level was by far the highest in the lung, followed by the heart, adrenal, and adipose tissue. Since little has been known concerning the regulation of TFPI gene expression in vivo, we further analyzed the changes in the TFPI mRNA level in murine tissues after intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interleukin-1 (IL-1). LPS and TNF-alpha dramatically decreased TFPI mRNA expression in four tissues examined (e.g., lung, heart, kidney, and adipose tissue), whereas the suppressive effect of IL-1 on TFPI mRNA was limited. The down-regulation of TFPI mRNA expression by LPS and TNF-alpha was also observed in cultured mouse endothelial cells and in cardiomyocyte cell lines. The decreased TFPI mRNA expression by LPS and TNF-alpha in tissues and in the specific cell types may contribute to an increase in the local procoagulant potential, resulting in the thrombotic tendency under septic and/or inflammatory conditions.