Zinc in Health and Disease Management

Zinc is an essential trace element that has manifold functions in all living beings, with fundamental role for proper function of a large number of molecules. In humans, changes in zinc homeostasis, as for example zinc deficiency, cause varied impacts on the individual such as growth problems, fertility, alterations of the immune system, and disease progression. Zinc homeostasis is also compromised during aging, whereby abnormal metabolism contributes to sub-clinical changes and cellular dysfunction that may underlie the onset of (neuro-)degenerative diseases. Better understanding is required about the normal function of this single trace element in healthy individuals, which critically depend on its tight control by metal-binding proteins, cellular organelles, and transporters, as well as in the context of various diseases.

This Research Topic aims to support and condense recent knowledge on the role of zinc functioning in healthy people, in the context of detrimental diseases as well as the effects of improper metabolism of zinc during ageing, from bench to bedside.

We encourage all authors to participate in this Research Topic by submitting original research, reviews or meta-analyses covering in vivo and in vitro studies that give new insights into the role of the trace element zinc in the context of healthy subjects, disease pathogenesis and aging.

We highly support studies focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics:
• The importance of zinc in human health
• Zinc deficiency and nutraceutical effects of zinc supplementation
• Epidemiological studies of zinc consumption
• The role of zinc in the course of different diseases including age-related neurodegenerative pathologies
• New data on zinc biology and its impact on normal cell homeostasis and dyshomeostasis
• Zinc and its impact on inflammation
• Novel techniques for zinc detection and quantification for further clinical evaluation