Caught with one’s zinc fingers in the genome integrity cookie jar

摘要

Zinc finger (ZnFs) domains exist in at least 5% of all human proteins. First characterized to bind DNA, ZnFs display extraordinary binding plasticity including RNA, lipids, proteins and post-translational modifications. The diverse binding properties of ZnFs have made their functional characterization challenging. While once confined to large and poorly characterized protein families — proteomic, cellular and molecular studies have begun to shed light on their involvement as protectors of the genome. Here we focus on the emergent roles of ZnF domain-containing proteins in promoting genome integrity, including their involvement in telomere maintenance and DNA repair. These findings have highlighted the need for further characterization of ZnF proteins, which can reveal functions of this large gene class in normal cell function and human diseases, including those involving genome instability such as aging and cancer.