Zinc’s immune-boosting properties are well-established, but we’re still untangling how it works. In a new study published in late March in the scientific journal Blood, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center scientists reveal two different ways the mineral supports immunity. Using mice, the team discovered that zinc is required for development of a specialized type of immune cell and prompts a critical immune organ to regenerate after damage.
The study also revealed that an experimental compound that mimics zinc’s action in this organ works even better than the natural mineral to promote immune recovery and could have therapeutic potential for people who receive a blood stem cell transplant as a treatment for advanced leukemia or another serious blood disease.
“This study adds to our knowledge of what zinc is actually doing in the immune system,” said Hutch immunologist Dr. Jarrod Dudakov, who led the work with Dudakov Lab research associate Dr. Lorenzo Iovino.
With the experimental compound, “we could repeat everything we could do with zinc supplementation, but we could remove one of the largest barriers, which is this really prolonged period beforehand that you needed to supplement,” Dudakov said.
The researchers caution that while their work sheds light on why zinc is so important for immunity, it’s not a green light to begin mega-dosing with the mineral.
