Zinc supplementation reconstitutes the production of interferon-alpha by leukocytes from elderly persons

The elderly are more prone to virus infections and neoplasias than are young adults. During a virus infection, interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), proteins with antiviral, antiproliferative, and immunomodulatory properties, are transiently expressed. We here report that peripheral white blood cells from 16 subjects with a mean age of 72 years yielded less IFN when stimulated with a virus in vitro than those from 16 young adults with a mean age of 28 years. Monocytes are the main source of this IFN. However, yields of another monocyte product, interleukin-6 (IL-6), were greater in cells from the older subjects than from the young adults, so there is no general defect in monocytes from the former. Immunodeficiency in the elderly has been reported to be associated with a deficiency of zinc. When cultures of white blood cells from the elderly were supplemented with 15 microM zinc (the physiologic concentration), they produced IFN in amounts comparable to those from the younger subjects.