ZiFDB (Zinc Finger Database, http://zifdb.msi.umn.edu) is a web-accessible database that houses information on individual C(2)H(2) zinc fingers (ZFs) and engineered zinc finger arrays (ZFAs). ZiFDB serves as a resource for biologists interested in engineering ZFAs for use as sequence-specific DNA-binding reagents. Here, we describe four new features of ZiFDB: (i) the database allows users to in...

background: it is hypothesized that poor zinc nutritional status is associated with an increased risk of esophageal cancer (ec), but current evidence is contradictory. since some factors may influence zinc absorption, its status may be better evaluated thorough biomarkers. the objectives of this study were to perform a systematic review on the association of zinc biomarkers with ec in observati...

C2H2 zinc finger (C2H2-ZNF) genes are one of the largest and most complex gene super-families in metazoan genomes, with hundreds of members in the human and mouse genome. The ongoing investigation of this huge gene family requires computational support to catalog genotype phenotype comparisons of C2H2-ZNF genes between related species and finally to extend the worldwide knowledge on the evoluti...

ZINCPharmer (http://zincpharmer.csb.pitt.edu) is an online interface for searching the purchasable compounds of the ZINC database using the Pharmer pharmacophore search technology. A pharmacophore describes the spatial arrangement of the essential features of an interaction. Compounds that match a well-defined pharmacophore serve as potential lead compounds for drug discovery. ZINCPharmer provi...

Within this study, a unique 3D structure-based pharmacophore model of the enzyme glyoxalase-1 (Glo-1) has been revealed. Glo-1 is considered a zinc metalloenzyme in which the inhibitor binding with zinc atom at the active site is crucial. To our knowledge, this is the first pharmacophore model that has a selective feature for a "zinc binding group" which has been customized within the structure...