Steroid Response Elements Steroid Response Elements Steroid response elements are DNA sequences that are bound by steroid receptors .
Steroid receptors are proteins that have a binding site for a particular steroid .
Once they bind this molecule, they are able to bind to their response element. The response element is part of the promoter of a gene. Binding by the receptor activates or represses, as the case may be, the gene controlled by that promoter. Link to general discussion of eukaryotic promoters and the transcription factors that control them. Mutations in any one region may upset the function of that region without necessarily interfering with other functions of the receptor.