The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is the most thoroughly studied example of a steroid receptor whose function is crucially dependent on interactions with Hsp90. In the absence of the steroid hormone cortisol, GR resides in the cytosol complexed with several chaperone proteins including Hsp90 (see figure to the right). These chaperones maintain the GR in a state capable of binding hormone. A second role of Hsp90 is to bind immunophilins (e.g., FKBP52) that attach the GR complex to the dynein protein trafficking pathway, which translocates the activated receptor from the cytoplasm into the nucleus. Once in the nucleus, the GR dimerizes and binds to specific sequences of DNA and thereby upregulates the expression of GR responsive genes. Hsp90 is also required for the proper functioning of several other steroid receptors, including those responsible for the binding of aldosterone, androgen, estrogen, and progesterone.