Abstract
Zinc-responsive transcription factors are found in all kingdoms of life and include the transcriptional activators ZntR, SczA, Zap1, bZip19, bZip23, and MTF-1, and transcriptional repressors Zur, AdcR, Loz1, and SmtB. These factors have two defining features; their activity is regulated by zinc and they all play a central role in zinc homeostasis by controlling the expression of genes that directly affect zinc levels or its availability. This review summarizes what is known about the mechanisms by which each of these factors sense changes in intracellular zinc levels and how they control zinc homeostasis through target gene regulation. Other factors that influence zinc ion sensing are also discussed.
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Animals
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Arabidopsis / metabolism
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Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / metabolism
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Copper / metabolism
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DNA-Binding Proteins / physiology
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Gene Expression Regulation*
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Homeostasis / drug effects
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Homeostasis / genetics*
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Humans
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Protein Structure, Tertiary
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / physiology
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Schizosaccharomyces / metabolism
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Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / physiology
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Sequence Alignment
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Transcription Factor MTF-1
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Transcription Factors / metabolism*
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Transcription Factors / physiology
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Transcriptional Activation
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Zinc / metabolism*
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Zinc Fingers / physiology
Substances
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DNA-Binding Proteins
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Loz1 protein, S pombe
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Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
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Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins
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Transcription Factors
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ZAP1 protein, S cerevisiae
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Copper
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Zinc