Krueppel-like transcription factor 11 (KLF11) inhibits activity of the human proinsulin promoter in pancreatic beta-cells

KLF11 (TIEG2) is a member of the Sp1/KLF transcription factor family which plays an important role in mammalian gene regulation. KLF11 is a pancreas-enriched transcription factor that has elicited significant attention because of its role as negative regulator of exocrine cell growth in vitro and in vivo. However, its functional role in the endocrine pancreas remains to be established. Here we investigated endogenous expression of KLF11 in pancreatic beta-cells and analyzed the effects of KLF11 overexpression on human proinsulin promoter activity. RT-PCR revealed endogenous KLF11 mRNA expression in whole rat pan…