Functional interaction between the p160 coactivator proteins and the transcriptional enhancer factor family of transcription factors

SRC1, initially identified as a nuclear receptor coactivator, was found to interact with a member of the transcriptional enhancer factor (TEF) family of transcription factors, TEF-4, The interaction, which occurs in both intact cells and in a cell-free system, is mediated by the highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix/Per-Arnt-Sim (bHLH-PAS) domain present in the N-terminal region of SRC1. Moreover, all three members of the p160 family of nuclear receptor coactivators, SRC1, TIF2, and RAGS, are able to potentiate transcription from a TEF response element in transient transfection experiments, and this activation requires the presence of the bHLH-PAS domain. These results suggest that the p160 proteins could be bona fide coactivators of the TEF family of transcription factors.