A putative nuclear receptor coactivator (TMF/ARA160) associates with hbrm/hSNF2 alpha and BRG-1/hSNF2 beta and localizes in the Golgi apparatus.

An ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factor, SNF/SWI complex, acts as a coactivator for numerous transcriptional factors. One of the best-documented examples is nuclear receptors, although the molecular mechanism for this coactivation has not been sufficiently elucidated. Here we show that hbrm/hSNF2 alpha and BRG-1/hSNF2 beta, the ATPase subunits of the human SNF/SWI complexes, specifically associate in vitro and in vivo with TATA element modulatory factor (TMF)/ARA160, which has been described as a binding protein to and coactivator for the androgen receptor. This interaction requires highly conserved N-terminal regions of hbrm/hSNF2 alpha and BRG-1/hSNF2 beta and a C-terminal region of TMF/ARA160. Immunofluorescence and Western blot studies revealed that the TMF isoforms differentially localize in the Golgi apparatus and the nucleus.