Abstract
Owing to the importance of zinc for the functioning of the immune system, the role of endogenous Zn, located both in lymphoid and nonlymphoid organs, was investigated during the standard humoral and cellular types of immune response. For this purpose, the dynamics of hepatic, thymic, splenic, and renal Zn content was determined in mice sensitized with (a) sheep red blood cells and (b) semiallogeneic lymphocytes during the local host vs graft reaction (HVGR). The data obtained by ion-coupled plasma spectrometry revealed that the humoral type of immunity is characterized by a significant increase of Zn concentration in the liver and in the thymus. Simultaneously, linear regression analysis showed that the generation of plaque-forming cells in the individual mouse was highly positively correlated with Zn concentration in the liver (r = 0.897), and spleen (r = 0.833), and negatively with Zn concentration in the thymus (r = -0.624). Similar relationships between the intensity of local immune reaction and tissue Zn levels were found in local HVGR at the fifth day in the liver and spleen (r = 0.861 andr = 0.695, respectively), at the seventh day in the thymus (r = -0.797), and at the tenth day in the liver (r = -0.859). The data emphasize the necessity of Zn for the development of normal immune response and point to the existence of a Zndependent hepato-thymic axis during the humoral and cellular types of immune reactivity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R.J.P. Williams, Zinc: What is its role in biology?Endeavor 8, 65–70 (1984).
R. J. Cousins and J. M. Hempe, Zinc, inPresent Knowledge in Nutrition, M. L. Brown, ed., International Life Science Institute, Nutrition Foundation, Washington, DC, pp. 251–260 (1990).
P. J. Fraker, M E. Gershwin, R. A. Good, and A. Prasad, Interrelationships between zinc and immune function,Fed. Proc. 45, 1474–1479 (1986).
C. T. Walsh, H. H. Sandstead, A. S. Prasad, P. M. Newberne, and P. J. Fraker, Zinc, health effects and research priorities for the 1990s,Environ. Health Perspect. 2, 5–46 (1994).
N. Wellinghausen, H. Kirchner, and L. Rink, The immunobiology of zinc,Immunol. Today 18, 519–521, (1997).
D. Verbanac, G Milin, R. Domitrović, J. Giacometti, R. Pantović, and Z. Ciganj, Determination of standard zinc values in the intact tissue of mice by ICP spectrometry,Biol. Trace Element Res. 57, 91–96 (1997).
A. J. Cunningham and A. Szenberg, Further improvements in the plaque technique for detecting single antibody forming cells,Immunology 14, 599–600 (1968).
W. I. Ford, W. Burr, and P. Simonsen, A lymph-node weight assay for graft versus host activity of lymphoid cells,Transplantation 10, 258–266 (1970).
N. Wellighausen, M. Martin, and L. Rink, Zinc inhibits interleukin-1-dependent T cell stimulation,Eur. J. Immunol. 27, 2535–2535 (1997).
J. E Sprietsma, Zinc-controlled TH1/TH2 switch significantly determines development of diseases,Med. Hypoth. 49, 1–14 (1997).
F. W. J. Beck, A. S. Prasad, J. Kaplan, J. T Fitzgeral, and G. J. Brewer, Changes in cytokine production and T cell subpopulations in experimentally induced zincdeficient humans,Am. J. Physiol-Endocrinol. Metab. 35, E1002-E1007 (1997).
D. Reinhold, S. Ansorge, and K. Grungreiff, Zinc regulates DNA synthesis and IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 production of PWM-stimulated PBMC and normalizes the periphere cytokine concentration in chronic liver disease,J. Trace Element Exp. Med. 10, 19–27 (1997).
M. A. Dunn and R. J. Cousins, Kinetics of zinc metabolism in the rat: effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP,Am. J. Physiol. 256, E420-E430 (1989).
N. Fabris and E. Mocchegiani, Zinc, human diseases and aging,Aging (Milano) 7, 77–93 (1995).
E. Mocchegiani, D. Verbanac, L. Santarelli, A. Tibaldi, M. Muzzioli, B. Radošević-Stašić, et al, Zinc and metallothioneins on cellular immune effectiveness during liver regeneration in young and old mice,Life Sci. 61, 1125–1145 (1997).
J. F. Bach and M. Dardenne, Thymulin, a zinc-dependent hormone,Med. Oncol. Tumor Pharmacother. 6, 25–29 (1989).
J. A. Coto, E. M. Hadden, M. Sauro, N. Zorn, and J. W. Hadden, Interleukin 1 regulates secretion of zinc-thymulin by human thymic epithelial cells and its action on T-lymphocyte proliferation and nuclear protein kinase C,Immunology 89, 7752–7756 (1992).
P. J. Thomalley and M. Vasak, Possible role of metallothionein in protection against radiation-induced oxidative stress. Kinetics and mechanism of its reaction with Superoxide and hydroxyl radicals,Biochim. Biophys. Acta 82, 36–44 (1985).
J. Hidalgo, M. Giralt, J. S. Garvey, and A. Armario, Physiological role of glucocorticoids on rat serum and liver metallothionein in basal and stress conditions,Am. J. Physiol. 254, (Endocrinol. Metab. 17), E71-E8 (1988).
P. J. Fraker, F. Osati-Ashtiani, M. A. Wagner, and L. E. King, Possible role for glucocorticoids and apoptosis in the suppression of lymphopoiesis during zinc deficiency: a review,J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 14, 11–17 (1995).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Verbanac, D., Milin, C., Radošević-Stašić, B. et al. Tissue zinc dynamics during the immune reaction in mice. Biol Trace Elem Res 65, 97–108 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02784262
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02784262