Cuajungco, M.P.; Ramirez, M.S.; Tolmasky, M.E. Zinc: Multidimensional Effects on Living Organisms. Biomedicines2021, 9, 208.
Cuajungco, M.P.; Ramirez, M.S.; Tolmasky, M.E. Zinc: Multidimensional Effects on Living Organisms. Biomedicines 2021, 9, 208.
Abstract
Zinc is a redox-inert trace element that is second only to iron in abundance in biological systems. In cells, zinc is typically buffered and bound to metalloproteins, but may also exist as a labile or chelatable (free ion) form. Zinc plays a critical role in prokaryotes and eukaryotes ranging from structural to catalytic to replication to demise. This review discusses the influential properties of zinc on various mechanisms of bacterial proliferation and synergistic action as anti-microbial element. We also touch upon the significance of zinc among eukaryotic cells and how it may modulate their survival and death through its inhibitory or modulatory effect on certain receptors, enzymes, and signaling proteins. A brief discussion on zinc chelators is also presented and chelating agents may be used with or against zinc to affect therapeutics against human diseases. Overall, the multidimensional effects of zinc in cells attest to the growing numbers of scientific research that reveal the consequential prominence of this remarkable transition metal in human health and disease.
Keywords
metalloproteins; zinc transporters; metal chelators; antibiotic resistance; antimicrobials
Subject
LIFE SCIENCES, Biochemistry
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
