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28.14: Zinc-dependent enzymes (24c.14)

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    117304
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    Although zinc serves in a catalytic role for over three hundred zinc metallo­enzymes, no single zinc-dependent enzyme has gained widespread acceptance as a biomarker of zinc status in humans. Their response to zinc defi­ciency, even in experimental studies of zinc depletion-repletion, has been very equivocal, and none have proved to be a consistent biomarker of zinc status. The physio­logical symptoms of zinc defi­ciency probably reflect, a series of biochemical changes (King, 2011).

    Several zinc metallo-enzymes have been investigated as possible biomarkers of zinc status in plasma, erythrocytes, erythrocyte membranes or in specific cell types. Examples include d-amino-levulinic acid dehydratase, angiotensin-1-converting enzyme, α-D-manno­sidase, extra­cellular super­oxide dismutase, nucleoside phosphorylase, carbonic anhydrases, ecto purine 5′nucleo­tidase, and alkaline phosphatase. Of these zinc metallo-enzymes, the activity of alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) in serum, erythrocytes, or erythrocyte membranes has been most frequently studied. In a systematic review of biomarkers of zinc status that included seven differ­ent enzymes (Lowe et al., 2009). Six studies investigated the response of plasma alkaline phosphatase. However, no significant effect of zinc intakes on overall plasma alkaline phosphatase was found after com­bining the data from zinc depletion and supple­mentation trials.

    Alkaline phosphatase in the circulation consists of a mixture of three differ­ent isozymes (intestinal, placental, and liver/kidney/bone) and several isoforms. It is possible that assessment of their individual responses to changes in zinc intakes may provide more sensitive and consistent data (King et al., 2015). For the other six enzymes included in the systematic review, the number of studies was too limited to assess their effectiveness as biomarkers of zinc status (Lowe et al., 2009). Hence, based on the available evidence the BOND Zinc Expert Panel classified the activity of zinc-dependent enzymes as “not useful” as a biomarker of zinc exposure or status (King et al., 2015).


    This page titled 28.14: Zinc-dependent enzymes (24c.14) is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rosalind S. Gibson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.