high junction energy, in which the B-DNA structure is allowed to undergo a conformational change to the Z-DNA structure without a major, disruptive change in energy. This result coincides with the computational results of Lee et al. proving the mechanism to be step-wise and its purpose being that it provides a lower energy barrier for the conformational change from the B-DNA to Z-DNA configuration. Contrary to the previous notion, the binding proteins do not actually stabilize the Z-DNA conformation after it is formed, but instead they actually promote the formation of the Z-DNA directly from the B* conformation, which is formed by the B-DNA structure being bound by high affinity proteins. Biological significance A biological role for Z-DNA in the regulation of type I interferon responses has been confirmed in studies of three well-characterized rare Mendelian Diseases: Dyschromatosis Symmetrica Hereditaria (OMIM: 127400), Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (OMIM: 615010) and Bilateral Striatal Necrosis/Dystonia. Families with haploid ADAR transcriptome enabled mapping of Zα variants directly to disease, showing that genetic information is encoded in DNA by both shape and sequence. A role in regulating type I interferon responses in cancer is also supported by findings that 40% of a panel of tumors were dependent on the ADAR enzyme for survival. In previous studies, Z-DNA was linked to both Alzheimer's disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. To showcase this, a study was conducted on the DNA found in the hippocampus of brains that were normal, moderately affected with Alzheimer's disease, and severely affected with Alzheimer's disease. Through the use of circular dichroism, this study showed the presence of Z-DNA in the DNA of those severely affected. In this study it was also found that major portions of the moderately affected DNA was in the B-Z intermediate conformation. This is significant because from these findings it was concluded that the transition from B-DNA to Z-DNA is dependent on the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, Z-DNA is associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through the presence of naturally occurring antibodies. Significant amounts of anti Z-DNA antibodies were found in SLE patients and were not present in other rheumatic diseases. There are two types of these antibodies. Through radioimmunoassay, it was found that one interacts with the bases exposed on the surface of Z-DNA and denatured DNA, while the other exclusively interacts with the zig-zag backbone of only Z-DNA. Similar to that found in Alzheimer's disease, the antibodies vary