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Receptor Transcriptional Activity

Meaning

Receptor transcriptional activity refers to the profound ability of a hormone-bound nuclear receptor complex to directly modulate gene expression by binding to specific DNA sequences, known as hormone response elements (HREs), thereby influencing the transcription of target genes. This activity is the final, most consequential step in the mechanism of action for all steroid and thyroid hormones, fundamentally determining the long-term physiological changes in a cell, such as regulating protein synthesis or inducing cellular differentiation. It represents the genomic effect of hormonal signaling.