Roles of Zinc Signaling in the Immune System

Figure 6

ZIP10’s roles in B-cell development and function. In early B-cell development, a cytokine (1st signal) induces JAK-STAT activation (2nd signal), which is converted to an intracellular Zn signal (3rd signal) by ZIP10 upregulation. This system for converting intracellular signals promotes early B-cell survival by inhibiting caspase activation and/or by an unknown mechanism via molecule X (blue). In mature B cells, ZIP10-Zn signaling sets the threshold for the BCR signaling strength by regulating the CD45R PTPase activity (red). Thus, ZIP10 controls antibody-mediated immune responses.