Final answer:
Transcription factors, which can act as activators or repressors, bind to regulatory elements to control the transcription of genes by promoting or hindering the recruitment of RNA polymerase II.
Step-by-step explanation:
Regulation of transcription in eukaryotic cells is a complex process involving the interaction of several regulatory proteins and DNA elements. The regulatory proteins mentioned in the question are known as transcription factors, which can function as activators or repressors.
These transcription factors bind to specific DNA sequences known as regulatory elements.
Activators assist in the recruitment of RNA polymerase II to the promoter region of a gene, thereby initiating transcription into mRNA. Conversely, repressors prevent the transcription process by obstructing the RNA polymerase's pathway along the DNA strand.
Transcription factors can bind to cis-acting elements directly within promoters or to trans-acting elements that may be distant from the gene they regulate, such as enhancers, which can loop back to interact with a gene's promoter.
The orchestrated actions of these factors and elements determine when and how much RNA is synthesized, crucially influencing gene expression.