Zinc and human health: an update

Abstract

The importance of micronutrients in health and nutrition is undisputable, and among them, zinc is an essential element whose significance to health is increasingly appreciated and whose deficiency may play an important role in the appearance of diseases. Zinc is one of the most important trace elements in the organism, with three major biological roles, as catalyst, structural, and regulatory ion. Zinc-binding motifs are found in many proteins encoded by the human genome physiologically, and free zinc is mainly regulated at the single-cell level. Zinc has critical effect in homeostasis, in immune function, in oxidative stress, in apoptosis, and in aging, and significant disorders of great public health interest are associated with zinc deficiency. In many chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis, several malignancies, neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, aging, age-related degenerative diseases, and Wilson's disease, the concurrent zinc deficiency may complicate the clinical features, affect adversely immunological status, increase oxidative stress, and lead to the generation of inflammatory cytokines. In these diseases, oxidative stress and chronic inflammation may play important causative roles. It is therefore important that status of zinc is assessed in any case and zinc deficiency is corrected, since the unique properties of zinc may have significant therapeutic benefits in these diseases. In the present paper, we review the zinc as a multipurpose trace element, its biological role in homeostasis, proliferation and apoptosis and its role in immunity and in chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, depression, Wilson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other age-related diseases.

A potential role for zinc transporter 7 in testosterone synthesis in mouse Leydig tumor cells

“…Previous studies have confirmed that changes in intracellular Zn concentrations exerted marked effects on testicular steroidogenesis processes induced by various physical, chemical and immunological stimuli (11,13,14). Zn homeostasis is regulated by two different Zn-transporter families: the Zrt-and Irt-like proteins (ZIPs; SLC39a) and the Zn transporter (ZnT) proteins (SLC30a).…”

“…ZnT5 is thought to transport Zn into the insulin-containing secretory granules of pancreatic β-cells (20). ZnT7 is located in the Golgi apparatus and it plays an important role in regulating the efflux of Zn from the cytosol into the extracellular space or increasing the influx of Zn into the Golgi network (14,15,21). ZnT8 is predominantly expressed in the insulin-containing granules in pancreatic β-cells and transports cytoplasmic Zn ions into the secretory granules for insulin maturation and crystallization prior to secretion (22,23).…”

Addressing Androgenetic Alopecia-A Complex Disorder-with a Multilateral Treatment Strategy

“…77 Specifically, Zinc may influence hair biology via its immunomodulatory effects. 77,78 Its antioxidant effects may stem from indirect stimulation of certain endogenous chemicals into metallothionein which possess superior antioxidant activities. 79 Biologically through its ability to inhibit endonucleases, Zinc may slow down the apoptotic processes in the hair follicles, specifically in keratinocytes during regression phase of the hair cycle catagen.…”

Efecto del consumo de zinc orgánico en la respuesta productiva de la cerda y su camada

“…Es un mineral traza con demostrada importancia para la función de más de 300 enzimas (Bhowmik et al, 2010;Chasapis et al, 2012), influyendo en el equilibrio ácido-base, la competencia inmune y las funciones celulares básicas (Haase y Rink, 2009a;Kelleher et al, 2011). La acción metabólica del Zn incluye el metabolismo energético, la síntesis de proteínas, metabolismo de los ácidos nucleicos, la integridad del tejido epitelial, la reparación y la división celular, transporte y utilización de la vitamina A, y la absorción de vitamina E (Bhowmik et al, 2010;Borah et al, 2014).…”