What is a zinc finger?

zinc finger is a finger -shaped protein fold consisting of specific amino acids in the protein binding of the ion zinc. These proteins often bind to DNA and RNA because their shape allows close interaction of the domain with DNA and RNA nucleotides. Their properties of binding nucleotides allow them to function in the regulation of gene expression and the assembly of the virus.

There are several types of zinc fingers, but the most common version consists of alpha helix and beta sheet, the two most common secondary structures in proteins, on both sides of at least one zinc. Alpha helix and beta sheets are held in cystine and histidine residues, coordinating zinc ion through their nitrogen and sulfur atoms. The zinc finger binds to DNA and through the interaction of amino acids on the periphery with steam bases in the center of the double helix DNA. It is a compact protein domain and its small size allows it to be close to DNA Base Pairs.

These proteins are the most common TRAnscripting factors in living organisms. The transcription factor is a protein that binds to DNA and controls the transmission of genetic information to RNA. The fact that these proteins to the target DNA have made them candidates for effective re-engineering to target DNA sequences.

For example, nuclease zinc finger (ZFN) is a synthetic protein that has an engineering domain of binding zinc fingers fused with restriction endonuclease or enzyme for DNA modification. The ZNN can be used to reduce DNA at specific locations and is a useful tool to support DNA -specific complications. Zinc fingers can also be used as artificial transcription factors.

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domains of the zinc fingers are found in some viral proteins, including protein neocapsid (NC) virus human immunodeficiency-1 (HIV-1). NC is an attractive antiviral target because it is important for the assembly of the virus and is highly preserved. InhiBitors, which specifically focus on zinc fingers of viral and retroviral proteins, can be used to prevent virus replication. Obtaining antiviral compounds of this nature is an active area of ​​biomedical research.

These proteins play an important role in normal cell metabolism. In order to be effective anti-recreational compounds, they must specifically focus on retroviral zinc proteins. These retroviral proteins have different amino acid sequences and structural differences from cell zinc fingers, so obtaining selective inhibitors is an achievable goal.