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Atomic Absorbance Spectroscopy to Measure Intracellular Zinc Pools in Mammalian Cells
Published on: May 16, 2019
Plasma zinc levels inversely correlate with vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 concentration in children with sickle
Solo R Kuvibidila1, Manuel Sandoval, Juan Lao
1Department of Pediatrics, Divisions of Research, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 200 Henry Clay, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA. skuvib@lsuhsc.edu
Insights
Zinc deficiency may impact sickle cell disease (SCD) by increasing vascular cell-adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Lower zinc levels correlated with higher VCAM-1, suggesting zinc supplementation could benefit SCD patients.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Immunology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Sickle cell disease (SCD) is linked to impaired immunity.
- Vascular cell-adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) plays a role in SCD vasoocclusion.
- The relationship between zinc levels and VCAM-1 in SCD is unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between zinc levels and soluble VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1) in children with SCD.
- To determine if zinc deficiency influences VCAM-1 expression in SCD.
Main Methods:
- Measured serum zinc and sVCAM-1 levels in 76 children with SCD and 96 controls.
- Analyzed correlations between zinc, sVCAM-1, age, hemoglobin phenotype, and inflammation markers.
- Compared sVCAM-1 levels based on SCD children's health problem history.
Main Results:
- SCD children had significantly higher sVCAM-1 levels than controls.
- sVCAM-1 negatively correlated with serum and red blood cell zinc levels.
- Zinc levels were below normal in a subset of both SCD and control children.
Conclusions:
- Zinc levels may modulate VCAM-1 expression in children with SCD.
- Zinc supplementation might be a beneficial therapeutic strategy for SCD patients.
- Further research is warranted to explore zinc's role in SCD pathophysiology.
Abstract:
Zinc deficiency has been implicated in impaired cell-mediated immunity of children with sickle cell disease (SCD). However, its influence on the expression of vascular cell-adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on endothelial cells, a protein involved in vasoocclusion, has not been previously investigated. We therefore measured (soluble) sVCAM-1 and zinc in 76 SCD children and 96 non-SCD children, mean age 7.73 years and 11.24 years, respectively. Although mean zinc levels of both groups were within the normal range (approximately 14.5 micromol/l), 14.5 % of SCD and 11% of non-SCD children (without inflammation) had levels below normal (10.7 micromol/L). Mean sVCAM-1 concentrations of SCD children (837 microg/l) were significantly higher than those of controls (627 microg/l) (p < 0.001). Differences persisted after taking into account age, hemoglobin phenotype, and inflammation (alpha-l acid glycoprotein >l g/l and C-reactive protein >10 mg/I). sVCAM-1 negatively correlated with serum (r = -0.444) and red blood cells zinc (r = -0.242, p < 0.05) but not with acute-phase proteins. Mean sVCAM-1 tended to be higher in SCD children with than in those without a history of a health problem (infection, pain crisis or were transfused; not significant). Data suggest that zinc may modulate the clinical status of SCD children through VCAM-1 expression, and zinc supplementation may be beneficial in these patients.