Lessons on transcriptional control from the serum response network

Response to environmental stimuli is critical for cell survival and function and requires high fidelity signal transduction into the nucleus to facilitate the coordinated transcriptional regulation of appropriate gene networks. The cellular response to mitogenic stimuli provides an excellent paradigm to decipher the mechanisms mediating precise gene expression control at the transcriptional level. Here we review recent advances in our understanding of this so-called serum response network, which illuminate novel aspects of nuclear signaling mechanisms, combinatorial control by DNA binding proteins and regulation of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) elongation.