title: Zinc-finger motif noncovalent interactions with double-stranded DNA characterized by negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.
abstract: A zinc-finger motif recognizes specific sequences on the double helical structure of DNA. This sequence recognition property offers great promise for various biotechnology applications. Accordingly, it is crucially important to characterize zinc-finger binding characteristics for further developments. Although the gel shift assay or phage display is traditionally used for determining the binding characteristics of zinc-fingers for double stranded DNA, in the present study we utilize electrospray ionization mass spectrometry as an advanced and convenient characterization tool because of the rich information it provides, and its quantitative sensitivity, operational simplicity, and no need for radioactive labeling. Here we demonstrate the use of negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for competition-based quantitative comparison of the zinc-finger motif sequence specificity, stoichiometry, and metal ion dependence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Program of Integrated Biotechnology, Sogang University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soojin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kyubong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Han Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Oh
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011485:Protein Binding; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D004247:DNA; D008274:Magnesium; D015032:Zinc; D002118:Calcium