RelB, a member of the Rel family of transcription factors, can stimulate promoter activity in the presence of p50-NF-kappa B or p50B/p49-NF-kappa B in mammalian cells. Transcriptional activation analysis reveals that the N and C termini of RelB are required for full transactivation in the presence of p50-NF-kappa B. RelB/p50-NF-kappa B hybrid molecules containing the Rel homology domain of p50-NF-kappa B and the N and C termini of RelB have high transcriptional activity compared with wild-type p50-NF-kappa B. The N and C termini of RelB cooperate in transactivation in cis or trans configuration. Alterations in the structure of the leucine zipper-like motif present in the N terminus of RelB significantly decrease the transcriptional capacity of RelB and of different RelB/p50-NF-kappa B hybrid molecules.