Zinc modulates copper coordination mode in prion protein octa-repeat subdomains
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Updated: May 31, 2026

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR
Published on: December 16, 2013
Francesco Stellato1, Ann Spevacek, Olivier Proux
1Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 1, 00133, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
In this work we present and analyse XAS measurements carried out on various portions of Prion-protein tetra-octa-repeat peptides in complexes with Cu(II) ions, both in the presence and in the absence of Zn(II). Because of the ability of the XAS technique to provide detailed local structural information, we are able to demonstrate that Zn acts by directly interacting with the peptide, in this way competing with Cu for binding with histidine. This finding suggests that metal binding competition can be important in the more general context of metal homeostasis.
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