Themed collection Zinc in the Biosciences

This report briefly summarizes the many new developments in the field of zinc biology presented at the fourth biennial meeting of the International Society for Zinc Biology, held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA in September 2014.

This editorial introduces a collection of papers presented at a symposium at King’s College London in December 2013. The Iron Metabolism Research Group organized this meeting that focused on “zinc and iron sensing in cells and tissues.

Editorial for Metallomics Themed Issue: Zinc in the Biosciences.

A link between environmental pH and fungal zinc uptake strategies? Soil acidity and endemic mycoses in the USA.

Relationship between the architecture and stability of zinc proteins.

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic plague, encodes a multitude of Fe transport systems.

Chelation-induced fluorescence changes in low molecular weight molecules (probes) and genetically encoded proteins (sensors) allow for measuring fluctuations of cellular zinc(II) ion concentrations.

This minireview summarizes recent developments in the immunobiology of zinc: its role as a second messenger, its importance for immune cell function, and the competition for zinc between the host and the pathogen.

The fate of zinc in animal husbandry systems is reviewed, from feed to manure, including absorption pathways in the animals.

This critical review focuses on one possible link between the cellular biology of lead and its neurotoxic effects: the link between Pb²⁺ substitution for Zn²⁺ in zinc-finger proteins and mental illness in adulthood.

Platelets are known to be activated by exogenous zinc. Herein we discuss the potential routes for zinc entry and the role of zinc–protein interactions in platelet activation.

Ancient bacteria originated from metal-rich environments.

Zinc-responsive transcription factors play a central role in zinc homeostasis by regulating zinc transporter and metallothionein gene expression.

β-Lactamases inactivate the important β-lactam antibiotics by catalysing the hydrolysis of the β-lactam ring, thus. One class of these enzymes, the metallo-β-lactamases, bind two zinc ions at the active site and these play important roles in the catalytic mechanism.

A non-toxic hydrazone with potential anti-Alzheimer activity: this organic ligand disrupts anomalous metal–Aβ(1–40) interactions, and, thus, seems suitable as a metal-protein attenuating compound.

The English familial mutation causes the exclusion of His6 from the zinc chelation pattern and triggers the assembly of Aβ_1–16 dimers.

Serum zinc decreases with age.

Evaluation of Zn affinity for the amyloid-β peptide involved in Alzheimer's disease and its modified counterparts is reported.

A recent study indicated that the development of lesions on the leaf blades of tobacco exposed to zinc (Zn) excess can be considered a manifestation of a Zn-tolerance strategy at the organ level.

During Fe–S cluster synthesis, oligomerization of the scaffold enables stable contacts with the iron- and sulfur-donor, with structural features predicted to facilitate cluster assembly and delivery.

A model of proposed Zn²⁺ uptake systems in Yersinia pestis.

Nano ZnO significantly attenuates CdCl₂-induced damage in the liver by increasing metallothionein synthesis and reducing Cd-induced perturbation of Zn²⁺ homeostasis.

Iron, copper and zinc may contribute to the neuronal pathologies that occurs following brain injury. We show here that there is a unique profile of metal alterations in the aged mouse brain following trauma which is distinct from that seen in younger animals.

Fluorescence detection of Zn²⁺ mobilized from cell proteome by nitric oxide (NO) is sensor dependent.

Emerging evidence suggests that zinc (Zn) deficiency is associated with depression and anxiety in both human and animal studies.

Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXRF) data reveal that metalloprotein inhibitors (MPi) do not significantly perturb cellular Zn content or distribution.

ZnT-1 performs two independent and separable functions related to zinc homeostasis: Active zinc transport and L-type calcium channel (LTCC) inhibition.

Regional distribution of Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn in the human hippocampus, and Cu deficiency in the area of total neuronal loss in hippocampal sclerosis.

Residues with carbons in magenta are affected by five ALS-causing mutations. This work elucidates a common pathogenic mechanism for these mutations, linked to destabilization of the metal site.

Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microtomography offers new insights into the three-dimensional distribution of zinc and iron at a key stage of zebrafish embryogenesis.

Zinc is known to play a central role in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis. Here we show that zinc affects the expression of flagella.

The biologically important metals such as zinc, copper and iron play key roles in retinal function, yet no study has mapped the spatio-temporal distribution of retinal biometals in healthy or diseased retina.

The conformation and oligomerization state of BK are strongly affected by copper but not zinc and this in turn affects the activity of BK in cells.

The first quantification of Pb(II) binding to MT-3 using ITC shows that lead binds more tightly than zinc to this brain-specific metallothionein.

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential divalent heavy metal that enters the cells by utilizing the transport pathways of the essential metals, like zinc (Zn), in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Without MTF1, zinc buffering by metallothioneins is reduced; hence, the sensitivity of the non-MTF1-controlled zinc-responsive transcriptome is augmented.

There are two competing pathways for the metalation of metallothionein MT1a by zinc and cadmium – a beaded pathway and a clustered pathway – adopted as a function of pH.

Exogenous zinc induces full aggregation of washed platelet suspensions. Zinc-induced aggregation is biphasic, suggestive of secondary signalling-mediated activation.

Nanonutrient for enhanced crop production and increased solar light absorption.

Over-expression of growth factors can contribute to the development and progression of cancer, and gastrins in particular have been implicated in accelerating the development of gastrointestinal cancers.

Izh2 acts as an integrator of intra- and extracellular signals. It dispatches a single input signal – a change in extracellular Zn concentration – into regulatory networks of several cellular processes, whereby it acts as the second line of cellular adaptation to perturbations to zinc homeostasis.

The human (h) ZIP4 transporter is a plasma membrane protein which functions to increase the cytosolic concentration of zinc.

QM/MM calculations on thiolate disulfide exchange reveal that a polar, 4-centered, cyclic transition state is formed when Zn(II) is present, helping to explain faster exchange rates in higher dielectric solvents for metal-assisted exchange.

Hypothetical schematic of the molecular mechanism of the protective activity of carnosine and anserine against Zn-induced neuronal.

Astrocytes uptake zinc as a clearance system to maintain the extracellular zinc level, while microglia take it up as a signal transmitter.

By integrating the microarray expression data and a global E. faecalis transcriptional network we identified a sub-network activated by zinc and copper.

Zn acquisition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Proteomic responses to zinc and cadmium in O. maius suggest an increase in polyamine biosynthesis through a novel pathway in fungi.

HypA structural Zn site mutants affect acid survival of Helicobacter pylori.

The exposure of human keratinocytes to non-toxic concentrations of ZnCl₂ impacts gene expression, cell proliferation and the response to UVB.

Aberrant zinc coordination to immature conformers broadens the population of SOD1 misfolded species at early aggregation stages.

Zinc modulates cellular amino acid metabolism and redox balance to exert its antioxidant effect.

Zinc isotope compositions of breast cancer tissue are significantly different compared to healthy breast tissue.

Through electronic and structural models, the factors influencing coordination sphere expansion of structural zinc in proteins are discussed.

Zinc is an essential trace element involved in the correct packing and storage of insulin.

The open ocean cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. WH8102 thrives at extremely low zinc concentrations. Metalloproteomics experiments have identified an outer-membrane bound porin with zinc-binding ability that is upregulated at low zinc levels, suggesting a role for porins in highly efficient zinc uptake.

This study confirms common involvement of the KRAS NF-κB pathway in the process of zinc(II) resistance at multiple stages of tumorigenesis.

Zinc deficiency of human monocytes reduces cytokine production and augments the direct clearance of pathogens by phagocytosis.

A novel mechanism by which Zn²⁺ modulates PTP1B activity encompasses the binding to the closed and phospho-intermediate forms only.

The canonical transient receptor potential 6 (TRPC6) protein is a non-selective cation channel able to transport essential trace elements like iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) through the plasma membrane.

Intracellular zinc signals affect the PI3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway by inhibiting a negative regulator: the lipid-phosphatase PTEN.

Examining the relationship between zinc, calcium, iron and copper in isolated sub-RPE deposits highlighted the diverse role these metals might play in conditions like age-related macular degeneration.