Zinc is involved in cell migration during embryo development and in cancer. We show that a zinc transporter consisting of two proteins, ZIP6 and ZIP10, stimulates both cell migration and division in mammalian cells and in the zebrafish embryo.

Many important carcinogenesis-related signalling pathways are activated downstream of zinc channel ZIP7-mediated zinc store release.

When in vitro cultivation was used as the 'gold standard' for the detection of Blastocystis hominis in stool specimens, simple smear and trichrome staining showed sensitivities of 16.7% and 40.2% and specificities of 94% and 80.4%, respectively. In vitro cultivation also enhanced PCR amplification for the detection of B. hominis in stool specimens. Our data show the usefulness of in vitro cultivation for the detection and molecular study of B. hominis in stool specimens.