Jansen Judith, Karges Wolfram, Rink Lothar
Institute of Immunology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
J Nutr Biochem. 2009 Jun;20(6):399-417. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2009.01.009.
Zinc is an essential trace element crucial for the function of more than 300 enzymes and it is important for cellular processes like cell division and apoptosis. Hence, the concentration of zinc in the human body is tightly regulated and disturbances of zinc homeostasis have been associated with several diseases including diabetes mellitus, a disease characterized by high blood glucose concentrations as a consequence of decreased secretion or action of insulin. Zinc supplementation of animals and humans has been shown to ameliorate glycemic control in type 1 and 2 diabetes, the two major forms of diabetes mellitus, but the underlying molecular mechanisms have only slowly been elucidated. Zinc seems to exert insulin-like effects by supporting the signal transduction of insulin and by reducing the production of cytokines, which lead to beta-cell death during the inflammatory process in the pancreas in the course of the disease. Furthermore, zinc might play a role in the development of diabetes, since genetic polymorphisms in the gene of zinc transporter 8 and in metallothionein (MT)-encoding genes could be demonstrated to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The fact that antibodies against this zinc transporter have been detected in type 1 diabetic patients offers new diagnostic possibilities. This article reviews the influence of zinc on the diabetic state including the molecular mechanisms, the role of the zinc transporter 8 and MT for diabetes development and the resulting diagnostic and therapeutic options.
锌是一种必需的微量元素，对300多种酶的功能至关重要，对细胞分裂和凋亡等细胞过程也很重要。因此，人体中的锌浓度受到严格调节，锌稳态的紊乱与包括糖尿病在内的多种疾病有关，糖尿病是一种由于胰岛素分泌减少或作用降低导致血糖浓度升高的疾病。对动物和人类补充锌已被证明可改善1型和2型糖尿病（糖尿病的两种主要形式）的血糖控制，但潜在的分子机制只是逐渐被阐明。锌似乎通过支持胰岛素的信号转导和减少细胞因子的产生发挥类似胰岛素的作用，细胞因子在疾病过程中胰腺的炎症过程中导致β细胞死亡。此外，锌可能在糖尿病的发生中起作用，因为锌转运蛋白8基因和金属硫蛋白（MT）编码基因的遗传多态性已被证明与2型糖尿病有关。在1型糖尿病患者中检测到针对这种锌转运蛋白的抗体这一事实提供了新的诊断可能性。本文综述了锌对糖尿病状态的影响，包括分子机制、锌转运蛋白8和MT在糖尿病发生中的作用以及由此产生的诊断和治疗选择。
