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Related Concept Videos

Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors01:52

Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors

Certain biochemical processes, such as embryonic development and cell growth regulation, depend on the repression of specific genes. DNA binding proteins known as eukaryotic transcription inhibitors regulate the repression of gene expression in eukaryotes. The presence of these inhibitors at the required location and time in the cell is triggered by the presence of hormones and additional signals from other cells.
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a DNA...
What is Gene Expression?01:42

What is Gene Expression?

Overview
Gene expression is the process in which DNA directs the synthesis of functional products, that is, proteins. Cells can regulate gene expression at various stages. It allows organisms to generate different cell types and enables cells to adapt to internal and external factors.
Genetic Information Flows from DNA to RNA to Protein
A gene is a stretch of DNA that serves as the blueprint for functional RNAs and proteins. Since DNA is made up of nucleotides and proteins consist of amino...
What is Gene Expression?01:36

What is Gene Expression?

A gene is a stretch of DNA that serves as the blueprint for functional RNAs and proteins. Since DNA is comprised  of nucleotides and proteins are comprised of amino acids, a mediator is required to convert the information encoded in DNA into proteins. This mediator is the messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA copies the blueprint from DNA by a process called transcription. In eukaryotes, transcription occurs in the nucleus by complementary base-pairing with the DNA template. The mRNA is then processed and...
Co-activators and Co-repressors02:04

Co-activators and Co-repressors

Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
Co-activators and Co-repressors02:04

Co-activators and Co-repressors

Gene transcription is regulated by the synergistic action of several proteins that form a complex at a gene regulatory site. This is observed in eukaryotes, where the regulation of gene expression is a complex process. Regulatory proteins in eukaryotes can broadly be classified into two types – regulators that bind directly to specific DNA sequences and co-regulators that associate with regulatory proteins but cannot directly bind to the DNA. These co-regulators are further divided into...
Euchromatin01:01

Euchromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions take up more dye, appearing darker, while the less-compact areas take up less dye and appear lighter. Based on the compaction level, chromatins are classified into two primary forms – euchromatin and heterochromatin.
Euchromatin is the less dense region of the chromatin and stains lighter. Euchromatin contains histone H3 extensively...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 10, 2026

Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers
10:28

Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers

Published on: September 20, 2018

Estrogen represses gene expression through reconfiguring chromatin structures.

Hatice Ulku Osmanbeyoglu1, Kevin N Lu, Steffi Oesterreich

  • 1Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Women's Cancer Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA and Fondazione Ri.MED, Palermo, Italy.

Nucleic Acids Research
|July 4, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) modifies existing higher-order chromatin structures to regulate gene expression. This mechanism explains how estrogen induces or represses genes by altering transcription, rather than forming new ones.

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Systems Biology of Metabolic Regulation by Estrogen Receptor Signaling in Breast Cancer
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Systems Biology of Metabolic Regulation by Estrogen Receptor Signaling in Breast Cancer

Published on: March 17, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genomics
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Estrogen influences over a thousand genes, with equal induction and repression.
  • Mechanisms behind estrogen's dual transcriptional effects are poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the mechanisms of estrogen-mediated gene induction and repression.
  • To investigate the role of higher-order chromatin structures in estrogen signaling.

Main Methods:

  • Integration of multiple genomic datasets.
  • In silico analysis of transcription machineries at estrogen-responsive genes.

Main Results:

  • Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and RNA polymerase II (Pol II) form pre-assembled complexes at target genes.
  • Estrogen induces transcription elongation for induced genes and disrupts transcription for repressed genes via chromatin reconfiguration.
  • Estrogen acts by modifying existing complexes, not de novo assembly.

Conclusions:

  • Estrogen regulates gene expression by modulating pre-assembled higher-order chromatin complexes.
  • Chromatin structure reconfiguration is key to estrogen-mediated gene repression.