The c-met gene encoding Hepatocyte Growth Factor Receptor is predominantly expressed in epithelial cell types and overexpressed in a variety of human and mouse neoplastic tissues and cell lines. To understand the molecular mechanisms of the transcriptional regulation of this gene, we have cloned and functionally characterized the mouse c-met promoter region. Transient transfection analysis using a series of 5'-end deletion met-CAT chimeric constructs in epithelial (C-33A) and fibroblast (NIH3T3) cell lines demonstrated that the c-met promoter acts in a cell-type specific manner. These experiments also localized functionally important regulatory regions at -1390 to -279, relative to the transcription start site, which exert repressive activity, and at -278 to -77 which exhibit enhancing effects on c-met promoter activity. Further analysis by electrophoretic mobility shift assays using specific competitors and antibodies identified Sp1 protein binding to two cognate response elements at -221 and -124 within the enhancer region. Cotransfection experiments revealed that Sp1 stimulated promoter activity of the met-CAT constructs containing the two Sp1 binding sites. These results demonstrate that Sp1 is actively involved in the transcriptional regulation of the c-met promoter.