Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, 222 Chandlee Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA,
Genes Nutr. 2009 Jun;4(2):83-94. doi: 10.1007/s12263-009-0119-4. Epub 2009 Apr 2.
Zinc (Zn) is required for numerous metabolic processes serving both a structural and catalytic role. The mammary gland has a unique Zn requirement resulting from the need to also transfer an extraordinary amount of Zn into milk (~0.5-1 mg Zn/day) during lactation. Impairments in this process can result in severe Zn deficiency in the nursing offspring which has adverse consequences with respect to growth and development. Moreover, dysregulated mammary gland Zn metabolism has recently been implicated in breast cancer transition, progression and metastasis, thus there is a critical need to understand the molecular mechanisms which underlie these observations. Tight regulation of Zn transporting mechanisms is critical to providing an extraordinary amount of Zn for secretion into milk as well as maintaining optimal cellular function. Expression of numerous Zn transporters has been detected in mammary gland or cultured breast cells; however, understanding the molecular mechanisms which regulate mammary Zn metabolism as well as the etiology and downstream consequences resulting from their dysregulation is largely not understood. In this review, we will summarize the current understanding of the regulation of mammary gland Zn metabolism and its regulation by reproductive hormones, with a discussion of the dysregulation of this process in breast cancer.
锌（Zn）是许多代谢过程所必需的，具有结构和催化作用。乳腺具有独特的锌需求，这是因为在哺乳期还需要将大量的锌转移到乳汁中（~0.5-1 mg Zn/天）。如果这个过程受损，哺乳后代可能会出现严重的缺锌，这对其生长和发育会产生不利影响。此外，最近乳腺中锌代谢的失调与乳腺癌的转变、进展和转移有关，因此迫切需要了解这些观察结果背后的分子机制。严格调控锌转运机制对于为分泌到乳汁中提供大量的锌以及维持最佳的细胞功能至关重要。在乳腺或培养的乳腺细胞中已经检测到许多锌转运体的表达；然而，对于调节乳腺锌代谢的分子机制以及其失调的病因和下游后果，人们的理解还很有限。在这篇综述中，我们将总结目前对乳腺锌代谢的调节及其受生殖激素调节的理解，并讨论该过程在乳腺癌中的失调。
