ASC-1 Background Information Activating signal co-integrator-1 (ASC-1), originally identified as TRIP4, is a transcriptional co-activator of nuclear receptors that associates with specific components of the RNA polymerase II complex and binds the basal transcription factors TBP and TFIIA. ASC-1 functions with the transcription integrators SRC-1 and CBP/p300 through its zinc finger motif and is dependent on their ligand-dependent transactivation domain, AF2. Endogenous ASC-1 in HeLa cells is predominantly a nuclear protein. Under conditions of serum starvation, ASC-1 localizes to the cytoplasm. However, when serum starved in the presence of ligand of coexpressed CBP or SRC-1, ASC-1 remains in the nucleus. This behavior of ASC-1 suggests that it may play an important role in establishing distinct co-activator complexes under different cellular conditions.
