Zinc metalloproteins as medicinal targets.

Zinc bioinorganic chemistry has emphasized the role of the metal ion on the structure and function of the protein. There is, more recently, an increasing appreciation of the role of zinc proteins in a variety of human diseases. This critical review, aimed at both bioinorganic and medicinal chemists, shows how apparently widely-diverging diseases share the common mechanistic approaches of targeting the essential function of the metal ion to inhibit activity. Protein structure and function is briefly summarized in the context of its clinical relevance. The status of current and potential inhibitors is discussed along with the prospects for future developments (162 references).