In an effort to understand transcriptional regulation by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), we investigated the ability of a number of transcriptional coactivators to enhance PPARalpha:retinoic acid receptor (RXR) mediated transcription. We identified ARA70, a coactivator of the androgen receptor and PPARgamma, as a ligand-enhanced coactivator of PPARalpha in the prostate cancer cell line DU145. In prostate cancer cells, ARA70 demonstrated the strongest enhancement of PPARalpha transcription among the coactivators examined. Mutation of the N-terminal of the PPARalpha ligandbinding domain dramatically reduced the ability of ARA70 to enhance PPARalpha:RXR transcription. ARA70 was able to physically interact with both the wild-type and mutant PPARalpha as determined by coimmunoprecipitation. However, in the adrenal cell line Y1, ARA70 behaved as a repressor of PPARalpha while still able to coactivate PPARgamma.