Transcription factor

A protein that binds specific DNA sequences or interacts with transcription machinery to regulate gene transcription. Transcription factors can activate or repress the production of RNA from genes.

DNA-binding domain: A protein region that binds DNA through sequence-specific or structural interactions. It gives many transcription factors their ability to recognize particular regulatory DNA sequences.
Promoter: A DNA region near a gene where transcription initiation is organized. Promoters provide binding sites for transcription factors and the transcription-initiation machinery.
Master regulator: A regulator that controls a broad gene-expression program associated with a cell state or biological process. Some transcription factors coordinate many genes that define a cell's identity.
Transcriptional coactivator: A protein that enhances transcription by assisting transcription factors or transcription machinery without necessarily binding DNA specifically. Coactivators support regulatory activity but are not themselves sequence-specific DNA-binding factors.
Transcription factor binding site: A DNA sequence recognized by a transcription factor through sequence-specific binding. Binding-site sequences alone often fail to predict whether a factor will occupy a genomic location.
Transactivation domain: A protein region that promotes gene expression by recruiting transcription machinery or co-regulators. It lets DNA-bound factors stimulate transcription without contacting the core machinery directly.
Transcription initiation: The process in which RNA polymerase and associated factors assemble at a gene and begin RNA synthesis. Transcription factors regulate gene expression by influencing this starting step.
Yamanaka factors: The four transcription factors OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, and c-MYC used to reprogram cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. Their expression can reset differentiated cells toward a pluripotent state.
Transcriptional corepressor: A protein that represses transcription by associating with transcription factors and recruiting inhibitory machinery. Corepressors often act through transcription factors rather than recognizing target DNA themselves.
Cooperative binding: A process in which binding of one molecule changes the binding likelihood of another molecule. Interactions among transcription factors can make regulatory output sharply dependent on their combination.

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