Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Hiroki Nishikawa, Akira Asai, Shinya Fukunishi
Summary: Zinc is an essential trace element for the maintenance of life. Zinc deficiency in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) is closely related to liver fibrosis, liver carcinogenesis, and muscle wastage.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Stephen R. Hennigar, Alyssa M. Kelley, Bradley J. Anderson, Nicholes J. Armstrong, Holly L. McClung, Claire E. Berryman, J. Philip Karl, James P. McClung
Summary: The study demonstrated that MT2A mRNA in PBMCs can reflect dietary zinc intake in healthy adults, potentially serving as a component in determining zinc status.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF NUTRITION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stephen R. Hennigar, Cassandra Olson, Alyssa M. Kelley, James P. McClung
Summary: This study investigated the expression of zinc transporters in the small intestine of mice and found that Slc39a4 is positively associated with the appearance of Zn-67 in the liver and plasma. Most zinc transporters are expressed in the small intestine, but Slc39a4 predicts fractional zinc absorption and utilization in young mice.
JOURNAL OF NUTRITIONAL BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Hironori Tsuchiya
Summary: This narrative review provides an update on the oral symptoms of COVID-19 and hypothesizes their underlying mechanisms. It highlights the prevalence of gustatory dysfunction and saliva secretory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients, which persist even after recovery. The review suggests that zinc deficiency induced by COVID-19 may adversely affect gustatory and saliva secretory functions through the dysregulation of zinc-binding proteins and transporters in oral tissues. Zinc supplementation is recommended to improve oral symptoms in COVID-19 patients.
Correction
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yongzhi Sun, Jianfeng Chen, Hongmei Wang, Xinyu Song, Zhaohui Sun, Rui Zhang, Jiayi Zhong, Xinxin Gu, Mengxu Wang, Maoqing Wang, Chenghai Peng
Summary: A study reveals that marginal zinc deficiency affects the cardiac proteome in rats.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert A. DiSilvestro, Mireille Dardenne, Elizabeth Joseph
Summary: The study found that the immunoregulatory peptide thymulin activity is more sensitive to restricted zinc intake compared to four other parameters. Rats with lower zinc intake showed significantly lower levels of serum thymulin activity, serum zinc, extracellular superoxide dismutase, 5 '-nucleotidase activity, and liver metallothionein.
BIOLOGICAL TRACE ELEMENT RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hai-tao Yu, Juan Zhen, Ji-yan Leng, Lu Cai, Hong-lei Ji, Bradley B. Keller
Summary: Cadmium is a significant environmental pollutant linked to various health issues, while zinc has been shown to alleviate cadmium toxicity through mechanisms like direct competition for cellular uptake and induction of protective mechanisms. Future research directions on the role of zinc and metal transporters in reducing cadmium toxicity are discussed in this review.
ACTA PHARMACOLOGICA SINICA
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Ja-Seon Yoon, Sang Yoon Nam, Beom Jun Lee, Hyun Jik Lee
Summary: This study investigated the nutritional bioavailability of nano-sized and micro-sized zinc oxide particles in dietary-induced zinc-deficient mice. The results showed that high-quality nano-sized zinc oxide had higher nutritional bioavailability and improved tissue damage caused by zinc deficiency.
JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shoko Ogushi, Tomoki Kimura
Summary: Metallothioneins (MTs) are low-molecular-weight proteins that protect cells from heavy metal toxicity. MT1 and MT2 are ubiquitously expressed among the MT isoforms and their transcriptions are regulated by MTF1 binding to the MRE of the promoter. Different MT isoforms have different expressions, and MT1A is less responsive to zinc stimulation compared to MT1E, MT1G, MT1X, and MT2A possibly due to a lower MTF1 binding affinity in its promoter region. These findings help understand the differential regulation of MT isoform expression.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Mirjam Vreugdenhil, Marjolijn D. Akkermans, Liandre F. van der Merwe, Ruurd M. van Elburg, Johannes B. van Goudoever, Frank Brus
Summary: This study found a significant prevalence of zinc deficiency among healthy 1-3-year-old children from Western European high-income countries, with no significant differences in socio-economic characteristics and dietary zinc intake between children with and without zinc deficiency.
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Yun Liu, Ji Miao
Summary: This paper summarizes the effects of defective copper homeostasis on heart disease and discusses potential underlying molecular mechanisms.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Afsana Mahim, Mohammad Karim, David H. Petering
Summary: This study examined the role of nonspecific proteomic binding sites in zinc trafficking within cells. The results indicate that the proteome competes with metallothionein for Zn2+ binding, and the presence of GSH enhances the reaction speed. Overall, the study highlights the importance of high-affinity binding sites within the proteome for efficient zinc delivery to functional binding sites.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Fen-Fen Liu, Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Zhi-He Li, Jing Li, Kai-Bin Mo, Heng-Jia Ni
Summary: This study compared the effects of different zinc supplementation forms on piglets, showing that adding Zn-Met in feed and ZnSO4 dissolved in drinking water had higher bioavailability, increasing zinc concentration in the liver and jejunum, improving alkaline phosphatase and total superoxide dismutase activities, and enhancing metallothionein expression.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Afsana Mahim, David H. Petering
Summary: This study investigated the impact of glutathione (GSH) on zinc (Zn) trafficking from proteome to apo-carbonic anhydrase. The results showed that depletion of GSH stimulated cellular Zn accumulation and the proteome and metallothionein (MT) served as functional sources of Zn for generating Zn-proteins. The study also supported the hypothesis that enhanced transport of Zn into cells drives the conversion of apo-Zn-proteins to Zn-proteins.
Article
Neurosciences
Milos Bogdanovic, Hila Asraf, Noa Gottesman, Israel Sekler, Elias Aizenman, Michal Hershfinkel
Summary: Tight regulation of neuronal Zn2+ is critical for physiological function. Multiple Zn2+ transporters, such as ZIP1 and ZIP3, are involved in the uptake and distribution of Zn2+. In this study, we found that the expression of ZIP1 and ZIP3 was developmentally regulated in mouse hippocampal neurons, with higher levels of expression in mature neurons. ZIP1 and ZIP3 were ubiquitously expressed on somas and most neuronal processes in cultured neurons, while in adult mouse hippocampal brain, ZIP1 was predominantly expressed in the CA3 stratum pyramidale, and ZIP3 primarily localized in the stratum lucidum. Silencing of ZIP1 or ZIP3 reduced Zn2+ uptake in vitro, and silencing of ZIP3 protected CA3 neurons from neurodegeneration following seizures in vivo. These findings suggest that distinct Zn2+ transporters play different roles in regulating Zn2+ accumulation and toxicity in different neuronal populations in the hippocampus.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)