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Copper-Binding Proteins

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins

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Synonyms

Copper metalloproteins; Cuproproteins

Definition

Copper-binding proteins specifically incorporate the metal into their structure for catalytic and structural purposes. Noncatalytic, structural sites are found in copper sensing proteins involved in the regulation of copper metabolism and in copper sequestering peptides and proteins involved in protection against copper intoxication. The sensing proteins regulate all aspects of copper metabolism, including the uptake, intracellular use, detoxification, and export of copper. Commonly, the regulation is affected at the transcriptional level, and the binding of copper by the protein is the switch that modulates the sensor protein’s structure and function. The binding in these sites takes place through cysteinyl thiolates.

Noncatalytic Roles of Copper in Proteins

In noncatalytic proteins, copper serves a structural-regulatory role, a role mediated by its specific binding to sensory proteins where a change is elicited in the activity...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Department, Saint Francis University, 600, Loretto, PA, 15940-0600, USA

    Dr. Charles T. Dameron

Authors
  1. Dr. Charles T. Dameron
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charles T. Dameron .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Robert H. Kretsinger

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Vladimir N. Uversky

  3. Institute for Biological Instrumentation, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia

    Eugene A. Permyakov

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Dameron, C.T. (2013). Copper-Binding Proteins. In: Kretsinger, R.H., Uversky, V.N., Permyakov, E.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_126

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