Zinc is essential for wound healing, for vision, for DNA creation, for our senses of taste and smell, even for sexual health. But despite its importance, scientists have never fully understood the mechanism that moves the mineral through the body \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n
Researchers have, for the first time, created detailed blueprints of the molecular moving vans that ferry this important mineral everywhere it\u2019s needed through the blood. The finding gives scientists new insights into this important process \u2013 and a deeper understanding of the critical role it plays in maintaining good health.<\/p>\n
The work represents an international collaboration among researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and colleagues at the Universities of South Carolina (Maksymilian Chruszcz), Warwick (Claudia A. Blindauer) and St. Andrews (Alan J. Stewart).<\/p>\n
Surprising Findings<\/b><\/p>\n
Zinc is carried through the body by a protein known as serum albumin. Scientists had expected there would be a primary binding site where serum albumin binds with zinc, and the UVA researchers proved the location of that site. But the team, led by UVA\u2019s Wladek Minor, PhD, also found several more secondary binding sites, revealing a more complex interaction than anticipated. \u201cIt\u2019s different than it was predicted before,\u201d said researcher Katarzyna B. Handing, PhD.<\/p>\n
While computer models previously had been used to predict how serum albumin picks up zinc, Minor\u2019s team used a scientific technique called X-ray crystallography to create colorful images of zinc actually bound to serum albumin. The technique allows them to pinpoint the location of each particular zinc atom. It was a challenging task, but the resulting schematics allow scientists to see, for the first time, exactly how serum albumin and zinc come together.<\/p>\n
A Healthy Balance<\/b><\/p>\n
With the finding, scientists have a better grasp of how the body maintains the delicate balances necessary for good health, a state known as homeostasis. It\u2019s a complex dance made all the more complicated by the fact that serum albumin also transports many other things, such as hormones and fatty acids. \u201cHomeostasis is extremely important, and it can be affected by the level of zinc you are taking into your body. But it can be also affected by other elements,\u201d Handing said. \u201cIf you have an elevated level of fatty acids, for example as a result of diabetes or obesity, the zinc homeostasis can be disturbed.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is important because the body needs zinc, but too much zinc is toxic. So the body must make it available where it is needed, but, at the same time, it must prevent excessive buildup. If something goes wrong with the zinc regulation process, that can have a ripple effect, throwing the body\u2019s delicate balances out of whack and potentially having serious effects on health.<\/p>\n
Implications of the Discovery<\/b><\/p>\n
Ivan G. Shabalin, PhD, a research scientist in Minor\u2019s lab, noted that the research could help shed light on why certain drugs affect some patients differently than others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going towards an understanding of all these complex relationships,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have this one molecule [serum albumin], and you have hundreds \u2013 possibly thousands \u2013 of different molecules which bind to it. We need to understand all this interplay. By studying zinc binding to albumin, we are understanding this relationship deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n
University of Virginia Health System<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zinc is essential for wound healing, for vision, for DNA creation, for our senses of taste and smell, even for sexual health. But despite its importance, scientists have never fully understood the mechanism that moves the mineral through the body \u2013 until now. Researchers have, for the first time, created detailed blueprints of the molecular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}