The Wilson laboratory studies steroid hormone receptors are ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate gene expression by binding specific DNA sequences and interacting with other transcriptional regulatory proteins. They study the androgen receptor, the steroid receptor that mediates the biological effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone. Their focus is understanding molecular mechanisms of androgen receptor action. They use a variety of techniques to establish structure-function relationships in the ligand binding, DNA binding and transcriptional activation domains of the receptor. Specific naturally occurring mutations in the androgen receptor gene cause the androgen insensitivity syndrome that help in studies on receptor domain activity. Coactivator and corepressor proteins are being identified and characterized which interact with the receptor to modulate gene expression. They are determining mechanisms for androgen receptor reactivation in castration-recurrent prostate cancer.