The ankyrin repeats cofactor-1 (ANCO-1) was recently identified as a p160 coactivator-interacting protein that may inhibit transcriptional activity of nuclear receptors. Here, we have characterized the transcriptional regulatory domains of ANCO-1. Two intrinsic repression domains (RD) were identified: an N-terminal RD1 at residues 318-611 and a C-terminal RD2 at 2369-2663. ANCO-1 also contains an activation domain (AD) capable of stimulating transcription in both mammalian and yeast cells. The minimal AD was delimited to a 70-amino acid region at residues 2076-2145. Overall, full-length ANCO-1 exhibited transcriptional repressor activity, suggesting that RD domains may suppress the AD activity. We further demonstrated that ANCO-1 silencing by siRNA enhanced progesterone receptor-mediated transcription. Together, these results indicate that the transcriptional potential of ANCO-1 may be modulated by a combination of repression and activation signals. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.