Elsevier

Advances in Nutrition

Volume 10, Issue 4, July 2019, Pages 696-710
Advances in Nutrition

The Role of Zinc in Antiviral Immunity

https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz013Get rights and content
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ABSTRACT

Zinc is an essential trace element that is crucial for growth, development, and the maintenance of immune function. Its influence reaches all organs and cell types, representing an integral component of approximately 10% of the human proteome, and encompassing hundreds of key enzymes and transcription factors. Zinc deficiency is strikingly common, affecting up to a quarter of the population in developing countries, but also affecting distinct populations in the developed world as a result of lifestyle, age, and disease-mediated factors. Consequently, zinc status is a critical factor that can influence antiviral immunity, particularly as zinc-deficient populations are often most at risk of acquiring viral infections such as HIV or hepatitis C virus. This review summarizes current basic science and clinical evidence examining zinc as a direct antiviral, as well as a stimulant of antiviral immunity. An abundance of evidence has accumulated over the past 50 y to demonstrate the antiviral activity of zinc against a variety of viruses, and via numerous mechanisms. The therapeutic use of zinc for viral infections such as herpes simplex virus and the common cold has stemmed from these findings; however, there remains much to be learned regarding the antiviral mechanisms and clinical benefit of zinc supplementation as a preventative and therapeutic treatment for viral infections.

zinc
virus
metallothionein
antiviral
immunity
zinc deficiency
zinc supplementation

Abbreviations used

EV
epidermodysplasia verruciformis
HCMV
human cytomegalovirus
HCV
hepatitis C virus
HPV
human papilloma virus
HSV
herpes simplex virus
IRF
IFN regulatory factor
ISG
interferon stimulated gene
MT
metallothionein isoforms
MTF1
metal-responsive transcription factor
PRR
pattern recognition receptor
RdRp
RNA-dependent RNA polymerase
RT
reverse transcriptase
SOCS
suppressors of cytokine signaling
TLR
Toll-like receptor
ZIP
Zrt- and Irt-like proteins.

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Supported by Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation Investigatorship (VTL2015C022).

Author disclosures: SAR, SO, CA, and GA, no conflicts of interest.