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Transcription factors are proteins that help turn specific genes "on" or "off" by binding to nearby DNA. Transcription factors that are activators boost a gene's transcription. Repressors decrease transcription.

Transcription factor / transcription factors Transcription factors are proteins involved in the process of converting, or transcribing, DNA into RNA. Transcription factors include a wide number of proteins, excluding RNA polymerase, that initiate and regulate the transcription of genes.

First, transcription is controlled by limiting the amount of mRNA that is produced from a particular gene. The second level of control is through post-transcriptional events that regulate the translation of mRNA into proteins. Even after a protein is made, post-translational modifications can affect its activity.

The methylation of DNA is another general mechanism by which control of transcription in vertebrates is linked to chromatin structure.

Transcription factor activation is complex and may involve multiple intracellular signal transduction pathways, including the kinases PKA, MAPKs, JAKs, and PKCs, stimulated by cell-surface receptors 8, 9. Transcription factors may also be directly activated by ligands such as glucocorticoids and vitamins A and D 5.

Enhancers are DNA sequences that regulate the transcription of genes. Unlike prokaryotic regulatory sequences, enhancers don't need to be next to the gene they control. Often they are many kilobases away on the DNA. As the name suggests, enhancers can enhance (increase) transcription of a particular gene.

Transcription initiation can be regulated at the level of the formation of RNA polymerase holoenzyme, promoter recognition by RNA polymerase or RNA polymerase activity, all of which can be mediated by various factors.