Nuclear receptors

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Nuclear receptors are intracellular receptors, found in either in the cytosol or in the nucleus, bind ligands such as steroid hormones, thyroid hormones and fat-soluble vitamin A and vitamin D[1] .

Binding of the ligand causes a conformational change in the receptor resulting in the dissociation of chaperone proteins from the receptor to reveal sequence-specific binding sites. This increases its affinity of the nuclear-receptor complex for the specific chromosome binding site. Contrastingly, ligand binding can also act as a transcription repressor. Thus, nuclear receptors, along with their ligands work to regulate transcription and gene expression[2].

References

  1. Chawla A., Repa J., Evans R., et al. Nuclear Receptors and Lipid Physiology. Opening the X-Files. Science 2001; 294(5548):1866-1870.
  2. Alberts B. Molecular biology of the cell. 5th ed. New York: Garland Science Taylor & Francis. 2008