The DRIP complex and SRC-1/p160 coactivators share similar nuclear receptor binding determinants but constitute functionally distinct complexes.

Transcriptional activation requires both access to DNA assembled as chromatin and functional contact with components of the basal transcription machinery. Using the hormone-bound vitamin D(3) receptor (VDR) ligand binding domain (LBD) as an affinity matrix, we previously identified a novel multisubunit coactivator complex, DRIP (VDR-interacting proteins), required for transcriptional activation by nuclear receptors and several other transcription factors. In this report, we characterize the nuclear receptor binding features of DRIP205, a key subunit of the DRIP complex, that interacts directly with VDR and thyroid hormone receptor in response to ligand and anchors the other DRIP subunits to the nuclear receptor LBD. In common with other nuclear receptor coactivators, DRIP205 interaction occurs through one of two LXXLL motifs and requires the receptor's AF-2 subdomain. Although the second motif of DRIP205 is required only for VDR binding in vitro, both motifs are used in the context of an retinoid X receptor-VDR heterodimer on DNA and in transactivation in vivo. We demonstrate that both endogenous p160 coactivators and DRIP complexes bind to the VDR LBD from nuclear extracts through similar sequence requirements, but they do so as distinct complexes. Moreover, in contrast to the p160 family of coactivators, the DRIP complex is devoid of any histone acetyltransferase activity. The results demonstrate that different coactivator complexes with distinct functions bind to the same transactivation region of nuclear receptors, suggesting that they are both required for transcription activation by nuclear receptors.