The molecular pathways that participate in regulation of gene expression are being progressively unraveled. Extracellular signals, including the binding of extracellular matrix and soluble molecules to cell membrane receptors, activate specific signal transducers that process information inside the cell leading to alteration in gene expression. Some of these transducers when translocated to the cell nucleus may bind to transcription complexes and thereby modify the transcriptional activity of specific genes. However, the basic molecules involved in the regulation of gene expression are found in many different cell and tissue types; thus, the mechanisms underlying tissue-specific gene expression are still obscure.