Dioxin, produced as a by-product of various industrial chemical processes, is suspected of contributing to the development of cancer and birth defects in animals and humans. It apparently acts by entering cells by simple diffusion and binding to proteins in the cytoplasm, then altering the pattern of gene expression. Which of the following are likely to be the cytoplasmic proteins to which dioxin binds?

The question is incomplete as it does not have the options which are:

Transcription factors

Explanation:

The dioxin is an organic by-product formed from the chemical reaction of the organic compounds.

The dioxin is one of the causes of cancer in organisms and the can acts as teratogen during the development of the prenatal child.

The dioxin shows it affects by binding to specific receptors which can activate the transcription of genes and are thus called transcription factors. The dioxin binds these transcription factor called AH receptors and can cause cancer.

Thus, the Transcription factor is the correct answer.