Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is the primary inhibitor of both tissue- and urokinase-type plasminogen activators (t-PA, u-PA). PAI-1 also regulates the attachment of cells to the adhesive glycoprotein vitronectin (VN). PAI-1 gene expression has been observed in various cell types, and many regulatory factors have been identified to play a role in PAI-1 gene transcription. The complete picture of how the PAI-1 gene is expressed when cells adhere to a culture plate has not been fully elucidated. We found that in anchorage-dependent cells, PAI-1 gene was up-regulated when cells were beginning to attach to a culture dish and was down-regulated when cells had attached completely. The PAI-1 gene expression was induced only in adhered cells but not in non-adhered cells. The regulation of PAI-1 protein was also found in both culture medium and cell lysate when cells were attached to a culture dish. Our experiment indicates that vitronectin and fibronectin, as components of ECM, may be the factors involved in the regulation of PAI-1 gene expression. PAI-1, as an inhibitor of the interaction between vitronectin and integrin alphavbeta3, may also be a regulator of its own expression. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).