What is the Origin of Zinc Finger Protein?

The term was coined in the mid-1980s following the structural analysis of transcription factors, which revealed the essential role of the coordinated zinc ion in stabilizing the DNA-binding conformation. This discovery provided a molecular basis for understanding how hormones exert their effects on the genome.

What is the Mechanism of Zinc Finger Protein?

The zinc finger domain allows the protein to precisely recognize and bind to the specific Hormone Response Elements (HREs) located on the promoter regions of target genes. When a steroid hormone binds to its receptor, it triggers a conformational change that activates the zinc finger domain, enabling the receptor to translocate to the nucleus and bind the HRE. This precise binding event initiates or represses the transcription of target genes, effectively translating the hormonal signal into a specific, long-term cellular response.

Zinc Finger Protein

Meaning

A Zinc Finger Protein is a type of protein characterized by a distinct structural motif where a zinc ion is tetrahedrally coordinated to a small cluster of cysteine and/or histidine residues, forming a compact, finger-like loop. These proteins are highly abundant in the human genome and primarily function as transcription factors, binding to specific DNA sequences to regulate gene expression. They are fundamentally important in endocrinology because the intracellular receptors for all steroid and thyroid hormones utilize zinc finger domains for DNA binding.