The C2H2 zinc finger transcription factors are likely targets for Ni(II) toxicity.

Ni(II) ions are able to hydrolyze Naa-(Ser/Thr) peptide bonds in Naa-(Ser/Thr)-Xaa-His-Zaa sequences. We found that various human transcription factors contain such nickel hydrolytic patterns within C2H2 zinc finger (ZF) domains. We demonstrated the hydrolysis on two peptide models, the 3rd ZF of the Sp1 transcription factor and the 1st ZF of the ZNF302 transcription factor. The experimentally studied reaction rates indicate that the hydrolysis reaction is likely to be an element of intracellular nickel toxicity.