Cited by 818Trace Elements in HealthHeavy Metal Exposure and ToxicityIron Metabolism and Disorders

Zinc biochemistry: From a single zinc enzyme to a key element of life

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Maret, Wolfgang·2013·Advances in Nutrition

Abstract

The nutritional essentiality of zinc for the growth of living organisms had been recognized long before zinc biochemistry began with the discovery of zinc in carbonic anhydrase in 1939. Painstaking analytical work then demonstrated the presence of zinc as a catalytic and structural cofactor in a few hundred enzymes. In the 1980s, the field again gained momentum with the new principle of "zinc finger" proteins, in which zinc has structural functions in domains that interact with other biomolecules. Advances in structural biology and a rapid increase in the availability of gene/protein databases now made it possible to predict zinc-binding sites from metal-binding motifs detected in sequences. This procedure resulted in the definition of zinc proteomes and the remarkable estimate that the human genome encodes ∼3000 zinc proteins. More recent developments focus on the regulatory functions of zinc(II) ions in intra- and intercellular information transfer and have tantalizing implications for yet additional functions of zinc in signal transduction and cellular control. At least three dozen proteins homeostatically control the vesicular storage and subcellular distribution of zinc and the concentrations of zinc(II) ions. Novel principles emerge from quantitative investigations on how strongly zinc interacts with proteins and how it is buffered to control the remarkably low cellular and subcellular concentrations of free zinc(II) ions. It is fair to conclude that the impact of zinc for health and disease will be at least as far-reaching as that of iron.

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  • Zinc influences the structure and proper functioning of the skin and mucous membranes.

    “The element influences the structure and proper functioning of the skin and mucous membranes [98,100].”

    From Bioactive Compounds for Skin Health: A Review (2021) · cites this paper as [100]

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  1. Raulin J. Etudes chimiques sur la vegetation. Ann Sci Nat Bot Biol Veg. 1869;11:92-299.
  2. Lutz RE. The normal occurrence of zinc in biologic material. J Ind Hyg. 1926;8:127.
  3. Magneson GR, Puvathingal JM, Ray WJ. The concentration of free Mg 2+ and free Zn 2+ in equine blood plasma. J Biol Chem. 1987;262: 11140-8.
  4. Hogstrand C, Verbost PM, Wendelaar Bonga SE. Inhibition of human Ca 2+ -ATPase by Zn 2+ . Toxicology. 1999;133:139-45.

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Authors
Maret, W.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Maret, Wolfgang
Venue
Advances in Nutrition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-01
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
82-91
ISSN
  • 2156-5376 (ISSN-L)
  • 2161-8313
OpenAlex
W2097951289
Cited by
818
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 74 · 2025: 84 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 86 · 2022: 63 · 2021: 79 · 2020: 74 · 2019: 63 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 11
FWCI
4.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Advances in Nutrition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Trace Elements in Health
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Iron Metabolism and Disorders
Keywords
zinc metalloenzyme, carbonic anhydrase, zinc finger proteins, zinc binding site, zinc homeostasis, zinc regulation, signal transduction, metal-binding motifs
MeSH terms
Binding Sites, Carbonic Anhydrases, Catalysis, Homeostasis, Humans, Kinetics, Proteins, Zinc, Signal Transduction, Zinc Fingers, Protein Structure, Tertiary

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