A new study has revealed that proteins may play a much more important role in the regulation of gene expression than previously thought. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, have shown that proteins can act as control switches in the regulation of gene expression. This is an important finding, as it suggests that proteins could be used as molecular tools to modulate gene expression, which could lead to new treatments for a number of diseases. The research team studied how proteins, referred to as ‘transcription factors’, regulate the expression of genes. They found that these proteins act as control switches that turn genes on and off in response to environmental cues. This could potentially lead to new treatments for diseases such as cancer, where the regulation of gene expression needs to be precisely controlled.

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source: Phys.org