Glucocorticoid receptor control of transcription: precision and plasticity via allostery

In response to steroid ligands, glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activates or represses gene expression in a highly context-specific manner. New evidence suggests that the conformation of GR is allosterically modulated by contextual signals, including DNA sequences, ligands, post-translational modifications and other transcription regulators, and that this supports the assembly of distinct transcription complexes.