PRIC295, a Nuclear Receptor Coactivator, Identified from PPARα-Interacting Cofactor Complex

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- (PPAR) plays a key role in lipid metabolism and energy combustion. Chronic activation of PPAR in rodents leads to the development of hepatocellular carcinomas. The ability of PPAR to induce expression of its target genes depends on Mediator, an evolutionarily conserved complex of cofactors and, in particular, the subunit 1 (Med1) of this complex. Here, we report the identification and characterization of PPAR-interacting cofactor (PRIC)-295 (PRIC295), a novel coactivator protein, and show that it interacts with the Med1 and Med24 subunits of the Mediator complex. PRIC295 contains 10 LXXLL signature motifs that facilitate nuclear receptor binding and interacts with PPAR and five other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily in a ligand-dependent manner. PRIC295 enhances the transactivation function of PPAR, PPAR, and ER. These data demonstrate that PRIC295 interacts with nuclear receptors such as PPAR and functions as a transcription coactivator underin vitroconditions and may play an important role in mediating the effectsin vivoas a member of the PRIC complex with Med1 and Med24.