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Updated: May 17, 2026

Characterizing Mammalian Zinc Transporters Using an In Vitro Zinc Transport Assay
Published on: June 2, 2023
Tuning the metal binding site specificity of a fluorescent sensor protein: from copper to zinc and back
Melissa S Koay1, Brian M G Janssen, Maarten Merkx
1Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. m.s.t.koay@utwente.nl
Abstract:
We previously reported the development of high affinity Zn(2+) FRET sensors based on the Zn(2+)-mediated interaction between the CXXC motifs present in the copper chaperone proteins ATOX1 and WD4. By systematically substituting several of these cysteines for methionines, we constructed sensor variants that retain a high affinity for Cu(+), while effectively abolishing their ability to form stable tetrahedral Zn(2+) complexes.

