| Title |
Zinc in Human Health: Effect of Zinc on Immune Cells
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Molecular Medicine, April 2008
|
| DOI | 10.2119/2008-00033.prasad |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Ananda S. Prasad |
| Abstract |
Although the essentiality of zinc for plants and animals has been known for many decades, the essentiality of zinc for humans was recognized only 40 years ago in the Middle East. The zinc-deficient patients had severe immune dysfunctions, inasmuch as they died of intercurrent infections by the time they were 25 years of age. In our studies in an experimental human model of zinc deficiency, we documented decreased serum testosterone level, oligospermia, severe immune dysfunctions mainly affecting T helper cells, hyperammonemia, neurosensory disorders, and decreased lean body mass. It appears that zinc deficiency is prevalent in the developing world and as many as two billion subjects may be growth retarded due to zinc deficiency. Besides growth retardation and immune dysfunctions, cognitive impairment due to zinc deficiency also has been reported recently. Our studies in the cell culture models showed that the activation of many zinc-dependent enzymes and transcription factors were adversely affected due to zinc deficiency. In HUT-78 (T helper 0 [Th(0)] cell line), we showed that a decrease in gene expression of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-2 receptor alpha(IL-2Ralpha) were due to decreased activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) in zinc deficient cells. Decreased NF-kappaB activation in HUT-78 due to zinc deficiency was due to decreased binding of NF-kappaB to DNA, decreased level of NF-kappaB p105 (the precursor of NF-kappaB p50) mRNA, decreased kappaB inhibitory protein (IkappaB) phosphorylation, and decreased Ikappa kappa. These effects of zinc were cell specific. Zinc also is an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory actions. The therapeutic roles of zinc in acute infantile diarrhea, acrodermatitis enteropathica, prevention of blindness in patients with age-related macular degeneration, and treatment of common cold with zinc have been reported. In HL-60 cells (promyelocytic leukemia cell line), zinc enhances the up-regulation of A20 mRNA, which, via TRAF pathway, decreases NF-kappaB activation, leading to decreased gene expression and generation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1beta, and IL-8. We have reported recently that in both young adults and elderly subjects, zinc supplementation decreased oxidative stress markers and generation of inflammatory cytokines. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 144 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 16 | 11% |
| Japan | 11 | 8% |
| United Kingdom | 4 | 3% |
| France | 3 | 2% |
| India | 2 | 1% |
| Spain | 2 | 1% |
| Canada | 2 | 1% |
| Libya | 2 | 1% |
| Slovenia | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 8 | 6% |
| Unknown | 93 | 65% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 135 | 94% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 7 | 5% |
| Scientists | 1 | <1% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | <1% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 859 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 4 | <1% |
| Nigeria | 2 | <1% |
| Spain | 2 | <1% |
| Australia | 2 | <1% |
| Poland | 2 | <1% |
| United States | 2 | <1% |
| Brazil | 1 | <1% |
| China | 1 | <1% |
| Mexico | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 2 | <1% |
| Unknown | 840 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Bachelor | 167 | 19% |
| Student > Master | 114 | 13% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 81 | 9% |
| Researcher | 79 | 9% |
| Other | 41 | 5% |
| Other | 126 | 15% |
| Unknown | 251 | 29% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 167 | 19% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 116 | 14% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 60 | 7% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 58 | 7% |
| Chemistry | 34 | 4% |
| Other | 152 | 18% |
| Unknown | 272 | 32% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 340. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 26 March 2024.
All research outputs
#98,072
of 25,711,194 outputs
Outputs from Molecular Medicine
#7
of 1,208 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#136
of 96,646 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Molecular Medicine
#1
of 18 outputs
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