Abstract

Activator of thyroid and retinoic acid receptor (ACTR) is overexpressed in approximately 60% of primary human breast tumors and belongs to the p160 steroid receptor coactivator family. In this study, we identified a novel interaction partner of ACTR, the ETS transcription factor ER81 that is also heavily implicated in mammary tumor formation. ACTR and related p160 family members (steroid receptor coactivator-1 and glucocorticoid receptor-interacting protein-1 (GRIP-1)) augment ER81-mediated transcription. Although ACTR and GRIP-1 can acetylate ER81, this posttranslational modification of ER81 is not required for its stimulation by ACTR or GRIP-1. In addition, ACTR collaborates with the p300 coactivator, a joint interaction partner of ACTR and ER81, to stimulate ER81 function and the ability of p300 to acetylate ER81 is indispensable for this collaboration. Furthermore, the receptor tyrosine kinase HER2/Neu, an oncoprotein particularly found overexpressed in breast tumors, cooperates with both ACTR and p300 to stimulate ER81-mediated transcription. Thus, oncogenic HER2/Neu and ACTR may synergize to orchestrate mammary tumorigenesis through the dysregulation of the transcription factor ER81 and its target genes.