Zinc-Altered Immune function

Nanosized aluminum altered immune function.

On the basis of their uses in jet fuels and munitions, the most likely scenario for aluminum nanoparticle (NP) exposure is inhalation. NPs have been shown to be capable of penetrating deep into the alveolar regions of the lung, and therefore human alveolar macrophages (U937) with human type II pneumocytes (A549) were cultured together and exposed to NPs dispersed in an artificial lung surfactan...

Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infection.

Zinc is known to play a central role in the immune system, and zinc-deficient persons experience increased susceptibility to a variety of pathogens. The immunologic mechanisms whereby zinc modulates increased susceptibility to infection have been studied for several decades. It is clear that zinc affects multiple aspects of the immune system, from the barrier of the skin to gene regulation with...

Zinc as a Gatekeeper of Immune Function

After the discovery of zinc deficiency in the 1960s, it soon became clear that zinc is essential for the function of the immune system. Zinc ions are involved in regulating intracellular signaling pathways in innate and adaptive immune cells. Zinc homeostasis is largely controlled via the expression and action of zinc "importers" (ZIP 1-14), zinc "exporters" (ZnT 1-10), and zinc-binding protein...

Altered Immune Function during Long-Term

Altered immune function in alloxan-induced diabetes in mice.

Macrophage lectin receptors that recognize bacterial cell wall sugars are reduced in alloxan diabetic mice. This is in contrast to the expression of macrophage Fc (IgG2b) receptors which remains unaltered. Peritoneal macrophages, from diabetic and normal mice, were used as a source of accessory cells in an antigen dependent T cell proliferation assay with unopsonized Staph. epidermidis as the a...