We have previously identified a common polymorphism at the tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) locus (؊7351C>T), located within a GC-box in the retinoic acid (RA) and steroid hormone responsive t-PA enhancer. The aim of the present study was to functionally characterize this t-PA variant. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) using crude nuclear extracts from human endothelial, HeLa, and NT2 neuronal cells revealed a 10-fold greater protein binding affinity to the wild-