Alternative Mechanisms by Which Mediator Subunit MED1/TRAP220 Regulates Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ-Stimulated Adipogenesis and Target Gene Expression

Mediator is a general coactivator complex connecting transcription activators and RNA polymerase II. Recent work has shown that the nuclear receptor-interacting MED1/TRAP220 subunit of Mediator is required for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ)-stimulated adipogenesis of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). However, the molecular mechanisms remain undefined. Here, we show an intracellular PPARγ-Mediator interaction that requires the two LXXLL nuclear receptor recognition motifs on MED1/TRAP220 and, furthermore, we show that the intact LXXLL motifs are essential for optimal PPARγ function in a reconstituted cell-free transcription system. Surprisingly, a conserved N-terminal region of MED1/TRAP220 that lacks the LXXLL motifs but gets incorporated into Mediator fully supports PPARγ-stimulated adipogenesis. Moreover, in undifferentiated MEFs, MED1/TRAP220 is dispensable both for PPARγ-mediated target gene activation and for recruitment of Mediator to a PPAR response element on the aP2 target gene promoter. However, PPARγ shows significantly reduced transcriptional activity in cells deficient for a subunit (MED24/TRAP100) important for the integrity of the Mediator complex, indicating a general Mediator requirement for PPARγ function. These results indicate that there is a conditional requirement for MED1/TRAP220 and that a direct interaction between PPARγ and Mediator through MED1/TRAP220 is not essential either for PPARγ-stimulated adipogenesis or for PPARγ target gene expression in cultured fibroblasts. As Mediator is apparently essential for PPARγ transcriptional activity, our data indicate the presence of alternative mechanisms for Mediator recruitment, possibly through intermediate cofactors or other cofactors that are functionally redundant with MED1/TRAP220.