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28.16: Leukocyte zinc (24c.16)

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    117306
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    Leukocytes contain up to twenty-five times more zinc than erythrocytes, and have a very much shorter lifespan than the 120-day lifespan of erythrocytes. Concentrations of zinc in leukocytes vary according to the cell type, with monocytes and lymphocytes having the highest concen­trations, followed by neutrophils. Mixed white blood cells generally contain 75µg zinc/1010 cells.

    The BOND Zinc Expert Panel classified concen­trations of zinc in leukocytes and leukocyte sub­popu­lations as “not useful” as biomarkers of zinc nutrition in view of the inconsistent results observed in studies of both experimental zinc depletion – repletion (Ruz et al., 1992) and prolonged high zinc supple­mentation (e.g., 50mg Zn/d) (King et al., 2015).

    The separation of leukocytes and other specific cell types is difficult, and some of the inconsistencies reported for leukocyte zinc in zinc depletion-repletion studies may result from analyzing mixtures of cell types (e.g., neutrophils and lymphocytes), with differ­ent half-lives and zinc concen­trations. Further, leukocytes and other specific cellular types are prone to contamination from exogenous sources of zinc and from platelets. Data are also difficult to interpret because no consensus exists for the method used to express zinc concen­trations in leukocytes or specific cell types. Results can be expressed on a mg/kg dry weight basis to eliminate the effects of variable cell water content, but results expressed as ng/106 cells are generally preferred (Nishi, 1980; Milne et al., 1985). Additional factors limiting the use of leukocyte zinc or the zinc content of sub­popu­lations is the relatively large volumes of blood (i.e., about 5mL) required for the analysis, and the lack of established interpretive criteria (King et al., 2015).


    This page titled 28.16: Leukocyte zinc (24c.16) 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.