ArticleInternational journal of molecular sciences2018
The Intracellular Free Zinc Level Is Vital for Treg Function and a Feasible Tool to Discriminate between Treg and Activated Th Cells.
Article in International journal of molecular sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating Level of Blood Iron and Copper Associated with Inflammation and Disease Activity of Rheumatoid Arthritis.Biological trace element research · 2023Pooled it
- Total and Free Zinc Dynamics as Biomarkers for Neurological Impairment in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Zinc Deficiency Associated With an Increase in Mortality in COVID-19 Patients: A Meta-Analysis.Cureus · 2025Review
- The Role of Nutrition on Thyroid Function.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Effect of micronutrients on the risk of Graves' disease: a Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Article
- Thyroid hormones and minerals in immunocorrection of disorders in autoimmune thyroid diseases.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The intracellular free zinc level and zinc distribution are important for cellular function. Both are highly variable and are altered due to intrinsic zinc pool fluctuation via buffering and muffling reactions. Multiple autoimmune diseases are associated with pathologically changed zinc levels, which provoke altered signal transduction leading to changed immune responses, cell differentiation, and function. For instance, immunological tolerance can be impaired, causing autoimmune diseases because of a malfunction of regulatory T cells (Tregs). We investigated the intracellular free zinc concentration of resting and activated T helper (Th) cells and Tregs in an allogeneic graft versus host disease model using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis and enlightened cell function under nontoxic zinc concentrations and zinc deficiency by detecting cytokine secretion via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We exhibited for the first time that Tregs could be explicitly discriminated from other Th cell subsets using significantly increased intracellular free zinc levels. Moreover, the intracellular free zinc level was essential in maintaining the Treg phenotype and function, since zinc deficiency favored the pro-inflammatory immune response. Therefore, we hypothesize that the intracellular free zinc level in Th cells is essential in guaranteeing proper cellular function and can be used to discriminate Tregs from other Th cell subsets.
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Registered trials
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