Ripa S, Ripa R
Istituto di Clinica Medica Generale, Università di Ferrara.
Minerva Med. 1995 Jul-Aug;86(7-8):315-8.
Zinc and immune function relationship has been extensively studied. Both in experimentally induced mineral deficit and in genetically determined deficit observable in acrodermatitis enteropathica and in enteropathy of Danish A-46 cattle, a B and T dependent antibody response decrease, a T dependent cytolytic response decrease and a natural killer cytotoxic activity decrease are present noteviously. Serious reduction of the immune function is present, in proportion to the value of low zinc plasmatic level, in elderly patients, in malnourished and seriously zinc deficient children, in patients subjected to total parenteral supply, in HIV infections and especially in evident AIDS: in this condition the plasmatic zinc level can be considered, together with the CD4+ lymphocytes amount and the B2-microglobulin value, a disease progression marker. Zinc immunostimulating action mechanisms are complex, although thymic hormone (of which zinc is essential cofactor) stimulation seems to be most important. Zinc supplementation, also parenterally, can be useful in immunodeficiency (in the elderly, in the post-surgical patients, in genetically determined or alimentary induced deficit, in AIDS.
锌与免疫功能的关系已得到广泛研究。在实验性诱导的矿物质缺乏以及在肠病性肢端皮炎和丹麦A - 46牛的肠病中可观察到的遗传性缺乏中，均明显存在B细胞和T细胞依赖性抗体反应降低、T细胞依赖性细胞溶解反应降低以及自然杀伤细胞细胞毒性活性降低。在老年患者、营养不良和严重缺锌的儿童、接受全胃肠外营养的患者、HIV感染尤其是明显的艾滋病患者中，免疫功能会随着血浆锌水平降低而严重下降：在这种情况下，血浆锌水平可与CD4 +淋巴细胞数量和β2 -微球蛋白值一起被视为疾病进展的标志物。锌的免疫刺激作用机制很复杂，尽管胸腺激素（锌是其必需的辅助因子）的刺激似乎最为重要。补充锌，包括胃肠外补充，对免疫缺陷（老年患者、术后患者、遗传性或营养性诱导缺乏患者、艾滋病患者）可能有用。
