Objective   To construct a luciferase reporter vector containing human intestinal trefoil factor (hITF) promoter and to evaluate its activity in LS-174T and HEK293 cells.    Methods   A 2.5 kb fragment spanning the region -2 331 to +53 of hITF gene was amplified from genomic DNA extracted from LS-174T by PCR. Then 10 fragments containing different region of the promoter were substantially inserted into promoter-less pGL-3 basic luciferase reporter vector

and the obtained vectors were transfected into HEK-293  cells. In 48 h after the transfection

the cells were lysed and the luciferase activity was measured.    Results   The inserted hITF promoter was verified by DNA sequencing. The promoter activity of -500/+53

-400/+53 and -300/+53 ranged from 0.023 to 0.026

while that of -200/+53

-100/+53 and -50/+53 from 0.003 2 to 0.004 2. The minimal functional promoter was located in the -300/+53

and there were some potential active elements. The promoter region of -300/-200 played a vital role in transcription initiation of hITF.     Conclusion   The recombinant plasmid containing luciferase reporter gene driven by hITF promoter is constructed successfully. The region spanning -300/-200 plays an important role in facilitating the initiation of transcription.