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Transcription Factors

Meaning

Transcription Factors are a class of regulatory proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences, either promoting or blocking the transcription of genetic information from DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA). They are the molecular switches that control which genes are expressed in a cell, thereby dictating cellular function and identity. Many steroid and thyroid hormones exert their profound physiological effects by binding to intracellular receptors that then function as activated transcription factors. These proteins are central to the genomic action of endocrine signaling.