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Zinc Finger Domains

Meaning

Zinc finger domains are small, highly stable structural motifs found within proteins that coordinate one or more zinc ions to stabilize their characteristic folded shape, enabling them to bind precisely to nucleic acids, such as DNA or RNA, or to other proteins. These domains are fundamentally important in endocrinology because they form the critical DNA-binding region of the intracellular steroid hormone receptor superfamily, including receptors for cortisol, testosterone, and estrogen. Their presence allows these receptors to recognize and dock onto specific Hormone Response Elements (HREs) in the genome.