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Zinc Update: Role of Zinc Signaling in Immune System

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eMediNexus    25 October 2020

An article published in the Journal of Immunology Research stated that zinc is an essential micronutrient for basic cell activities such as cell growth, differentiation and survival. Researchers have suggested that zinc deficiency depresses both innate and adaptive immune responses; however, the precise physiological mechanisms of the zinc-mediated regulation of the immune system is largely unclear.

This article highlighted the emerging functional roles of zinc and zinc transporters in immunity, focusing on how crosstalk between zinc and immune-related signaling guides the normal development and function of immune cells.

The authors stated that zinc homeostasis is tightly controlled by the coordinated activity of zinc transporters and metallothioneins, which regulate the transport, distribution and storage of zinc. There is growing evidence that zinc behaves like a signaling molecule, facilitating the transduction of a variety of signaling cascades in response to extracellular stimuli.

Although zinc’s function as a key structural or catalytic component in more than 300 enzymes and transcription factors are well known, a growing body of evidence supports zinc’s role as a second messenger in a variety of cellular activities. The intracellular zinc concentration can be changed by immune-related extracellular stimulation, and the subsequent crosstalk between zinc and signaling components facilitates the transduction of signaling pathways for immune homeostasis and functions. Whereas, some studies show that excessive zinc impairs T-cell proliferation and cytokine production. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying the concentration-dependent effects of zinc are poorly understood, they probably involve the capacity of the intracellular buffering system to absorb large amounts of zinc and a breakdown of the system of zinc transport. Collectively, these findings strongly suggest that cellular zinc levels can determine the threshold for zinc functions in physiology and pathophysiology. In this regard, it is reasonable that zinc signaling by zinc transporters and channels would be tightly controlled in physiology.

Source: Journal of Immunology Research. 2016;2016:6762343. doi: 10.1155/2016/6762343.

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