Corepressor

In genetics and molecular biology, a corepressor is a molecule that represses the expression of genes.^[1] In prokaryotes, corepressors are small molecules whereas in eukaryotes, corepressors are proteins. A corepressor does not directly bind to DNA, but instead indirectly regulates gene expression by binding to repressors.

A corepressor downregulates (or represses) the expression of genes by binding to and activating a repressor transcription factor. The repressor in turn binds to a gene's operator sequence (segment of DNA to which a transcription factor binds to regulate gene expression), thereby blocking transcription of that gene.

^ Privalsky, Martin L., ed. (2001). Transcriptional Corepressors: Mediators of Eukaryotic Gene Repression. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Vol. 254. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-10595-5. ISBN 978-3-642-08709-7. S2CID 8922796.

[1] Privalsky, Martin L., ed. (2001). Transcriptional Corepressors: Mediators of Eukaryotic Gene Repression. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. Vol. 254. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-10595-5. ISBN 978-3-642-08709-7. S2CID 8922796.

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