Activating signal cointegrator 1, a novel transcription coactivator of nuclear receptors, and its cytosolic localization under conditions of serum deprivation

Activating signal cointegrator 1 (ASC-1) harbors an autonomous transactivation domain that contains a putative zinc finger motif which provides binding sites for basal transcription factors TBP and TFIIA, transcription integrators steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC-1) and CBP-p300, and nuclear receptors, as demonstrated by the glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays and the yeast two-hybrid tests. The ASC-1 binding sites involve the hinge domain but not the C-terminal AF2 core domain of nuclear receptors. Nonetheless, ASC-1 appears to require the AF2-dependent factors to function (i.e., CBP-p300 and SRC-1), as suggested by the ability of ASC-1 to coactivate nuclear receptors, either alone or in cooperation with SRC-1 and p300, as well as its inability to coactivate a mutant receptor lacking the AF2 core domain. By using indirect immunofluorescence, we further show that ASC-1, a nuclear protein, is localized to the cytoplasm under conditions of serum deprivation but is retained in the nucleus when it is serum starved in the presence of ligand or coexpressed CBP or SRC-1. These results suggest that ASC-1 is a novel coactivator molecule of nuclear receptors which functions in conjunction with CBP-p300 and SRC-1 and may play an important role in establishing distinct coactivator complexes under different cellular conditions.