ABSTRACT
Zinc is essential for the growth and development of all organisms; it is important for the function of more than 300 enzymes, covering all enzyme classes. One inherited disease related to malabsorption of zinc is called acrodermatitis enteropathica (AE), which is mostly based on a mutation in the gene encoding for the zinc transporter Zip4. AE is a rare, autosomal recessively inherited disease. Affected patients suffer from symptoms of zinc deficiency, including severe dermatitis, immune dysfunction, diarrhea, growth retardation, alopecia, and, occasionally, mental retardation. To maintain zinc homeostasis and to prevent cellular overaccumulation of zinc accompanied by toxic effects, regulatory mechanisms are of high importance. Subjects with marginal zinc deficiency show impaired memory, smell, and taste; depressed immunity; and, in males, reduced spermatogenesis. Zinc signals have been observed in different cell types of the innate immune system, comprising dendritic cells (DCs), mast cells, monocytes/macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, as well as in the adaptive immune system, comprising T-cells and B-cells.
