Roles of Zinc Signaling in the Immune System

Figure 1

Zn transporters control Zn homeostasis. (1) Zn is ingested from the diet (or from breast milk in infants). (2) Zn is absorbed by intestinal Zn transporters and is released into the bloodstream. (3) Zn is taken up into peripheral cells by Zn transporters located on the plasma membrane. (4) Zn is distributed within the cell by intracellular Zn transporters. Each step is important for maintaining intracellular Zn levels. Disrupting Zn uptake results in ZnD and subsequent pathogenesis. ZIP (blue) and ZnT (red) transporters are indicated.