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A protein called YiiP prevents the lethal buildup of zinc inside bacteria, a new study that deciphered the inner workings of the same has found. 

Researchers said the understanding of YiiP's movements will help design the drugs aimed at modifying the behavior of ZnT proteins and others that play important roles in hormone secretion and in signaling between neurons. 

"Zinc is necessary for life. It requires transporter proteins to get into and out of cells, where it does its work," said Dax Fu, Ph.D., an associate professor of physiology, in the press release. "If the transporter proteins malfunction, zinc concentrations can reach toxic levels. This study shows us how zinc-removing proteins work."

Further Zinc is needed to activate genes while enabling many proteins to function. 

In pancreatic beta cells, high concentrations of zinc are found inside the packages of insulin that they produce, although its precise role there is unknown, the press release added.

"When the protons move from a place of high concentration to low concentration, they generate a force like falling water does," Fu said.

"Understanding the way the protein works, especially which segments of the protein do what, will help us design better drugs to moderate its activity wherever it is found."

The study has been published in the journal Nature.