BACKGROUND We examined the effects of the R325W mutation on the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the beta-cell-specific Zn2+ (zinc) transporter ZnT-8. METHODS A model of the C-terminal domain of the human ZnT-8 protein was generated by homology modeling based on the known crystal structure of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) zinc transporter YiiP at 3.8 A resolution. RESULTS The homodimer ...