Regulatory Role of Zinc in Allergic Rhinitis through the IL-33/ST2 Pathway

Objective. We aimed to investigate the expression of serum zinc and cytokines interleukin- (IL-) 13 and IL-33 in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and observe the effects of zinc on cytokines and pathway proteins in P815 mast cells stimulated by Artemisia annua allergen (Art.) in the IL-33/suppression of the tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) pathway. We also aimed to explore the possible regulatory role of zinc in AR and provide new ideas to determine the etiology and treatment of AR. Methods. AR patients treated from March to September in 2018 were selected as the research participants, and 50 healthy people in the same period were selected as the control group. Serum samples of all patients were collected, and those of AR patients were tested for the presence of allergens. The expression of IL-13 and IL-33 was detected by performing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while the serum zinc level was detected by conducting an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The cell counting kit (CCK-8) was used to detect the proliferation of P815 mast cells, and western blot was used to detect the expression of ST2, p38, and p65 proteins. Results. A total of 92 AR patients were included in the study; of them, 52 had mild AR, while 40 had moderate AR. The primary allergen found in AR patients was Artemisia, and the positivity rate was 53.26%. The serum zinc ion level of AR patients decreased, and the expression of IL-13 and IL-33 increased. After Art. was used to treat P815 mast cells, the expression of IL-33 in the cell supernatant increased in a concentration-dependent manner, the expression of receptor ST2 increased, and the expression of downstream p38 and p65 proteins increased. However, after treatment with ZnSO4, the expression of IL-33 in the cell supernatant decreased, and the expression of ST2, p38, and p65 protein decreased. Conclusion. The serum zinc level of AR patients decreased. In the IL-33/ST2 pathway, ZnSO4 can reduce the hypersensitivity of mast cells induced by Art.

Association of Serum Zinc Level with Febrile Seizures in Children

Introduction: Febrile seizure (FS), previously known as febrile convulsion, is the most common seizure in children. FS usually occurs between six months and five years of age. Aims and objectives: The main objective of the study is to find the association of serum zinc level with febrile seizures in children of Pakistan. Material and methods: This cross sectional study was conducted at Mayo Hospital, Lahore during June 2020 to January 2021. The data was collected from 164 patients of both genders. Results: The data was collected from 164 patients. In the case group, 46 children were male (53.3%), and 36 children (46.7%) were female. In the control group 44 children were male (43.3%) and 38 children were female (56.7%). The age of all participants was between one months and six years. Conclusion: It is concluded that low serum zinc levels are fairly un-sufficient to support the hypothesis that Zinc deficiency could not be a potential risk factor for febrile seizure in children.

Evaluation of serum zinc level and IL-18 mRNA expression in children with pneumonia

Pneumonia is currently one of the leading causes of death in children. Increased susceptibility to pneumonia may be due to their decreased immunity. One of the reasons for the decrease in immunity is zinc deficiency. In children with pneumonia, on the other hand, some cytokines are secreted, resulting in inflammation that spreads, persists, and makes treatment difficult for specialists. In this study, we investigated the serum zinc level in children with pneumonia and healthy children. Also, we tried to find its relationship with IL-18 mRNA expression as an inflammatory cytokine. For this purpose, serum zinc levels and IL-18 mRNA expression were evaluated in 120 children aged 3-60 months with pneumonia and 120 healthy children. After taking 2ml of blood from children and measuring serum zinc level, the level of the IL-18 mRNA was measured by real-time PCR. Total RNA was extracted by bioZOL™-G RNA Isolation Reagent kit. The primary cDNA was amplified by the extracted RNA, and in the next step, 2µl of cDNA were amplified by specific primers to measure IL-18 mRNA. The Beta-actin gene was also used as internal control and housekeeping gene. Results showed that the level of zinc in the patient group was 412.625±28.87?M and in the control group was 514.40±49.67?M. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.0053). Also, the expression of the IL-18 gene was increased in children with pneumonia, significantly (P=0.0015). Therefore, from the results, it can be deduced that children with zinc deficiency were at higher risk for a lung infection. Inflammatory cytokines such as IL-18 also were increased in these children. Hence, it can be concluded that zinc levels can reduce the expression of IL-18 mRNA and play an important role in the prevention and treatment of children with pneumonia.

Serum zinc levels and in vivo beta-amyloid deposition in the human brain

Background Despite the known associations between zinc levels and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia and related cognitive impairment, the underlying neuropathological links remain poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that serum zinc level is associated with cerebral beta-amyloid protein (Aβ) deposition. Additionally, we explored associations between serum zinc levels and other AD pathologies [i.e., tau deposition and AD-signature cerebral glucose metabolism (AD-CM)] and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), which are measures of cerebrovascular injury. Methods A total of 241 cognitively normal older adults between 55 and 90 years of age were enrolled. All the participants underwent comprehensive clinical assessments, serum zinc level measurement, and multimodal brain imaging, including Pittsburgh compound B-positron emission tomography (PET), AV-1451 PET, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET, and magnetic resonance imaging. Zinc levels were stratified into three categories: < 80 μg/dL (low), 80 to 90 μg/dL (medium), and > 90 μg/dL (high). Results A low serum zinc level was significantly associated with increased Aβ retention. In addition, apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE4) status moderated the association: the relationship between low zinc level and Aβ retention was significant only in APOE4 carriers. Although a low zinc level appeared to reduce AD-CM, the relationship became insignificant on sensitivity analysis including only individuals with no nutritional deficiency. The serum zinc level was associated with neither tau deposition nor the WMH volume. Conclusions Our findings suggest that decreased serum zinc levels are associated with elevation of brain amyloid deposition. In terms of AD prevention, more attention needs to be paid to the role of zinc.

Study on serum zinc and copper levels in pulmonary tuberculosis patients before starting Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course

Background: Tuberculosis is a major public health concern throughout the world including Bangladesh. The prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) is increasing day by day. Around one-third of world population is infected with M. tuberculosis. Still pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) remains one of the important causes of mortality throughout the world with economic burden. Objective: To evaluate levels of the serum zinc and serum copper in smear positive PTB patients before starting Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTs) therapy. Methods: This was a cross-sectional type of observational study. A total of 100 subjects were included in this study. Among them 50 were smear positive PTB patients denoted as case group and 50 were apparently healthy individuals denoted as control group. Biochemical tests were carried out in the department of biochemistry of Mymensingh Medical College, Mymensingh. All the statistical analyses were performed by using SPSS version 21. Results were evaluated by using Student’s t-test. Results: After careful evaluation there was significant decrease in serum zinc level along with significant increase in serum copper level among the case group when compared with the control group. The mean values of serum zinc level were 93.96±10.04 μg/dl and 72.84±7.73 μg/dl in control and case group respectively. Serum zinc level decreased significantly (p <0.001) in PTB patients. The mean values of serum copper were 111.81±21.26 μg/dl and 125.99±27.93 μg/dl in control and case group respectively. There was significant (p <0.001) rise of serum copper level in PTB patients. Mediscope 2021;8(2): 122-127

Hair Zinc content and its relation to Serum Zinc level in children with Idiopathic Epilepsy

Objective to measure the level of hair zinc, as well as its level in serum, in patients with epilepsy and compare them to the levels found in non-epileptic age and gender matched children, and to explore any potential correlation between either serum or hair level of magnesium and seizure characteristics in children with idiopathic epilepsy. Methods An observational cross-sectional study including 50 children with idiopathic epilepsy and 100 non-epileptic age and gender matched control subjects. Cases were subjected to full history taking, examination and measurements of serum and hair levels of zinc, control subjects only had their serum and hair level of zinc measured as for the cases. Results The mean serum zinc was 1.13 (0.61 - 1.69) ug/ml for cases and 1.81 (0.75 - 3) ug/ml for controls and the median hair level of zinc was 116.58 ug/g with IQR of 74.97 - 176.58 for cases and 143.64 ug/g with IQR of 95.22 - 178.28 for controls. Serum zinc level was significantly lower in cases compared to controls, but the difference was not statistically significant for hair zinc. No statistically significant correlation was observed between either hair or serum levels of zinc and seizure characteristics. Conclusion Serum zinc levels are reduced in epileptic patients compared to healthy age and gender matched controls. Hair zinc levels do not seem to be affected in idiopathic epilepsy. Studies involving larger numbers of patients are needed to confirm these results.

Zinc Serum Maternal Levels as a Risk Factor for Preeclampsia

Background. Preeclampsia is defined as gestational hypertension and proteinuria which can be measured by the elevation of liver transaminases to twice normal concentration, and the symptoms of increased intracranial pressure such as dizziness, blurred vision, and seizures. Zinc is an essential mineral for many biological functions and one of the trace elements that is directly involved in the oxidative/antioxidant balance, a pathogenesis process in preeclampsia that is highly dependent on dietary habits and supplements. This study was aimed to assess the association between serum zinc level with preeclampsia (PE). Methods: This observational, case-control study was performed on 90 women with singleton pregnancies at 28 to 42 weeks of gestation which were referred to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Mohammad Hoesin General Hospital, Palembang, between August 2020 to November 2020. 30 pregnant women with PE were selected as cases and 60 healthy pregnant women were selected as controls. Maternal serum zinc samples were collected. The collected data were entered into the master table. Tabulation, coding, and statistical data analysis were performed using SPSS version 20.0 for Windows. Results: The mean serum zinc levels in the case group and control group were 43,90 ± 15,79 µg/dL (ranged from 15 to 86 µg/dL) and 48,77 ± 10,54 µg/dL (ranged from 22 to 83 µg/dL), respectively. A value of serum zinc levels with the best sensitivity and specificity was 45,5 µg/dL. Conclusion: There was a significant association between maternal serum zinc level with PE. The risk of PE was 3,2 times higher in pregnant women with serum zinc levels of ≤45,5 mcg/dL compared to pregnant women with serum zinc levels of >45,5 mcg/dL. In this case it is necessary to supplement zinc earlier in pregnancy to reduce the risk of preeclampsia.

Zinc Serum Maternal Levels as a Risk Factor for Preeclampsia

Background. Preeclampsia is defined as gestational hypertension and proteinuria which can be measured by the elevation of liver transaminases to twice normal concentration, and the symptoms of increased intracranial pressure such as dizziness, blurred vision, and seizures. Zinc is an essential mineral for many biological functions and one of the trace elements that is directly involved in the oxidative/antioxidant balance, a pathogenesis process in preeclampsia that is highly dependent on dietary habits and supplements. This study was aimed to assess the association between serum zinc level with preeclampsia (PE). Methods: This observational, case-control study was performed on 90 women with singleton pregnancies at 28 to 42 weeks of gestation which were referred to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Mohammad Hoesin General Hospital, Palembang, between August 2020 to November 2020. 30 pregnant women with PE were selected as cases and 60 healthy pregnant women were selected as controls. Maternal serum zinc samples were collected. The collected data were entered into the master table. Tabulation, coding, and statistical data analysis were performed using SPSS version 20.0 for Windows. Results: The mean serum zinc levels in the case group and control group were 43,90 ± 15,79 µg/dL (ranged from 15 to 86 µg/dL) and 48,77 ± 10,54 µg/dL (ranged from 22 to 83 µg/dL), respectively. A value of serum zinc levels with the best sensitivity and specificity was 45,5 µg/dL. Conclusion: There was a significant association between maternal serum zinc level with PE. The risk of PE was 3,2 times higher in pregnant women with serum zinc levels of ≤45,5 mcg/dL compared to pregnant women with serum zinc levels of >45,5 mcg/dL. In this case it is necessary to supplement zinc earlier in pregnancy to reduce the risk of preeclampsia.