NMR and molecular dynamics studies of the mKr2 'zinc finger

We determined the structure of a 30-amino-acid 'zinc finger' motif from the mouse Kruppel-like gene mKr2 in solution in the absence of metal ions by two-dimensional NMR, distance geometry and restrained molecular dynamics methods. The most prominent secondary structural feature of the peptide is a helix extending from Ser14 to Ile20. The zinc-containing structure of the peptide was simulated by molecular dynamics calculations with restraints derived from the known geometry of the zinc ion and the ligating amino acid residues Cys6, Cys9, His22, His26. The latter structure does not deviate markedly from the set of structures determined for the zinc-free peptide, i.e. this peptide can accommodate a Zn2+ ion without major structural rearrangements. Thus, we propose that the metal ion stabilizes the existing three-dimensional peptide structural motif rather than introducing novel structural features.