Insights into the Dynamics of the Human Zinc Transporter ZnT8 by MD Simulations.

ABSTRACT: ZnT8 is a human zinc(II) transporter expressed at the membrane of secretory granules where it contributes to insulin storage importing zinc ions from the cytosol. In the human population, the two most common ZnT8 variants carry an arginine (R325) or a tryptophan (W325) in position 325. The former variant has the most efficient kinetics in zinc transport and has been correlated to a higher risk of developing insulin resistance. On the contrary, the W325 variant is less active and protects against type-2-diabetes. Here, we used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the main differences between the R325 and W325 variants in the interaction with zinc(II) ions. Our simulations suggested that the position of the metal ion within the transport site was not the same for the two varian

SUBMITTER: Sala D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8023586 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature