Zinc is an essential trace element, whose importance to the function of the central nervous system (CNS) is increasingly being appreciated. Alterations in zinc dyshomeostasis has been suggested as a key factor in the development of several neuropsychiatric disorders. In the CNS, zinc occurs in two forms: the first being tightly bound to proteins and, secondly, the free, cytoplasmic, or extracel...

During catalysis by liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), a water bound to the catalytic zinc is replaced by the oxygen of the substrates. The mechanism might involve a pentacoordinated zinc or a double-displacement reaction with participation by a nearby glutamate residue, as suggested by studies of human ADH3, yeast ADH1, and some other tetrameric ADHs. Zinc coordination and participation of wat...

Abstract Trace metals, particularly zinc, influence the growth and metabolism of yeast. In literature recommended concentration zinc in pitching wort is > 0.15 mg/L; lower concentrations cause fermentation problems reduce consequence final beer quality. The aim this study was exploration changes bioavailability (available zinc), which never considered before, mass balance total during maltin...

Chelatable, mobile forms of divalent zinc, Zn(II), play essential signaling roles in mammalian biology. A complex network of zinc import and transport proteins has evolved to control zinc concentration and distribution on a subcellular level. Understanding the action of mobile zinc requires tools that can detect changes in Zn(II) concentrations at discrete cellular locales. We present here a zi...

Chelatable, mobile forms of divalent zinc, Zn(II), play essential signaling roles in mammalian biology. A complex network of zinc import and transport proteins has evolved to control zinc concentration and distribution on a subcellular level. Understanding the action of mobile zinc requires tools that can detect changes in Zn(II) concentrations at discrete cellular locales. We present here a zi...

Human C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein, which harbours both host defence and scavenging properties. In this study, we obtained two new crystal forms of CRP, where CRP forms a symmetric, staggered dimer of pentamers. In one of these structures, obtained in the presence of HIV-1 Tat protein, this dimer of pentamers is stabilized by two zinc ions trapped within a cleft of the eff...

We report a molecular platform for dual-function fluorescence/MRI sensing of mobile zinc. Zinc-selective binding units were strategically attached to a water-soluble porphyrin template. The synthetic strategy for achieving the designed target ligand is flexible and convenient, and the key intermediates can be applied as general building blocks for the construction of other metal sensors based o...

In various bacteria, Zur, a zinc-specific regulator of the Fur family, regulates genes for zinc transport systems to maintain zinc homeostasis. It has also been suggested that Zur controls zinc mobilization by regulating some ribosomal proteins. The antibiotic-producing soil bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor contains four genes for Fur family regulators, and one (named zur) is located downstrea...