page_title: Brassinosteroid
section_title: Signalling mechanism
hierarchical_section_title: Brassinosteroid / Signalling mechanism
caption_attribution_description: English: Brassinosteroid signal cascade
context_page_description: Brassinosteroids are a class of polyhydroxysteroids that have been recognized as a sixth class of
  plant hormones and may have utility as an anticancer drug for endocrine-responsive cancers to induce apoptosis and inhibit growth. These brassinosteroids were first explored during the 70s, when Mitchell et al. reported promotion in stem elongation and cell division by the treatment of organic extracts of rapeseed pollen. Brassinolide was the first isolated brassinosteroid in 1979, when pollen from Brassica napus was shown to promote stem elongation and cell divisions, and the biologically active molecule was isolated. The yield of brassinosteroids from 230 kg of Brassica napus pollen was only 10 mg. Since their discovery, over 70 BR compounds have been isolated from plants.
context_section_description: BRs are perceived at the cell membrane by a co-receptor complex, comprising brassinosteroid insensitive-1 (BRI1) and BRI1-associated receptor kinase 1 (BAK1). BRI1 acts as a kinase, but in the absence of BR its action is inhibited by another protein, BRI1 kinase inhibitor 1 (BKI1). When BR binds to the BRI1:BAK1 complex, BKI1 is released, and a phosphorylation cascade is triggered which results in the de-activation of another kinase, brassinosteroid insensitive 2 (BIN2). BIN2 and its close homologues inhibit several transcription factors. The inhibition of BIN2 by BR releases these transcription factors to bind to DNA and to enact certain developmental pathways.
caption: Brassinosteroid signal cascade: in the absence of BR, BKI1 blocks BRI1 activity and BIN2 inhibits transcription factors. When BR is present, BKI1 dissociates from BRI1 and the BRI1:BAK1 complex is formed. This complex promotes the inactivation of BIN2 and transcription factors can then exert their effects.
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