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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.09.27.461959

Heterologous expression of the human ZIP4 zinc transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Liu, Y.·Bafaro, E. M.·Dempski, R. E.
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Abstract

The human (h) transporter, hZIP4 is the primary zinc importer in the intestine and is also expressed in a variety of organs such as the pancreas and brain. Dysfunction of hZIP4 can result in the zinc deficiency disease acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE), which disrupts digestive and immune system homeostasis. Structure-function studies of hZIP4 have been greatly hindered by the absence of a robust heterologous expression system. Here, we report the heterologous expression of hZIP4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both a wild type and a mutant S. cerevisiae strain, in which the endogenous zinc transporters are deleted, were used to test the expression and localization of an hZIP4-GFP fusion protein. A full-length hZIP4-GFP and a truncated membrane domain only (mhZIP4-GFP) protein were successfully produced and targeted to the plasma membrane in yeast.

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Liu, Y., Bafaro, E. M., Dempski, R. E.. 2021-09-27. Heterologous expression of the human ZIP4 zinc transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.27.461959

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