Zinc Finger Inhibitor

Zinc Finger Inhibitor

Zinc finger inhibitors, or zinc ejectors, are substances or compounds that interact adversely with zinc fingers and cause them to release their zinc from its binding site, disrupting the conformation of the polypeptide chain and rendering the zinc fingers ineffective, thereby preventing them from performing their associated cellular functions. This is typically accomplished through chelation of the zinc binding site. As zinc fingers are known to be involved in m-RNA regulation, reverse transcription, protection of synthesized viral DNA, transcription inhibition, and initial integration processes, prevention of zinc finger function can have drastic effects on the function of the cell or virus.

Zinc finger inhibitors are typically used to combat HIV. HIV treatments usually rely on targeting reverse transcriptases and proteases. However, these methods are proving to be ineffective due to the development of resistant strains of the virus or due to the stoppage of the treatment. This method of using zinc finger inhibitors to target and destabilize zinc fingers represents a new method of fighting HIV. Other viruses such as SARS, polio, Ebola, measles, human coxsackie, Dengue, rabies, human hepatitis, human parainfluenza and human respiratory syncytical have similar zinc finger motifs and could potentially benefit from zinc finger inhibitor technology.

Zinc ejectors were patented in 2008 and some have entered Phase I/II trials as a HIV drug.