ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Zinc in the Health and Disease

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2025) | Viewed by 4060

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Engineering, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Interests: zinc; platelets; zinc homeostasis; haemostasis; wound healing; zinc signalling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the role of zinc as a critically important element in the maintenance of health and in disease progression has been established. Dietary zinc is essential for health, growth, and development, and dietary deficiency results in a range of symptoms including immune suppression, dermatitis, diarrhoea, and defects in wound healing, and it can also be a contributing factor to the severity of infectious diseases. Supplementation of the diet with zinc is beneficial in a number of conditions and has been reported to increase survival rates during COVID-19 infection. Zinc has numerous biological roles, for example as a structural component in proteins or catalytic component of enzymes, and as a signalling element. It also plays roles in the immune system, during oxidative stress and apoptosis, during haemostasis, in wound healing, and in the ageing process. Zinc toxicity has necessitated the evolution of homeostatic control mechanisms, the importance of which is exemplified by Acrodermatitis enteropathica, where mutations of a zinc transporter disrupt zinc homeostasis.

In this Special Issue, we welcome a range of contributions, including original papers and reviews, to further clarify the roles of zinc in health and disease.

Dr. Nicholas Pugh
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • zinc
  • zinc homeostasis
  • dietary zinc deficiency
  • zinc disorders
  • zinc signalling

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

15 pages, 1060 KiB  
Review
Zinc and Its Impact on the Function of the Testicle and Epididymis
by Sergio Marín de Jesús, Rosa María Vigueras-Villaseñor, Edith Cortés-Barberena, Joel Hernández-Rodriguez, Sergio Montes, Isabel Arrieta-Cruz, Sonia Guadalupe Pérez-Aguirre, Herlinda Bonilla-Jaime, Ofelia Limón-Morales and Marcela Arteaga-Silva
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 8991; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25168991 - 19 Aug 2024
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3375
Abstract
Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element; it exhibits a plethora of physiological properties and biochemical functions. It plays a pivotal role in regulating the cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA organization, as well as in protein, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Among other important [...] Read more.
Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element; it exhibits a plethora of physiological properties and biochemical functions. It plays a pivotal role in regulating the cell cycle, apoptosis, and DNA organization, as well as in protein, lipid, and carbohydrate metabolism. Among other important processes, Zn plays an essential role in reproductive health. The ZIP and ZnT proteins are responsible for the mobilization of Zn within the cell. Zn is an inert antioxidant through its interaction with a variety of proteins and enzymes to regulate the redox system, including metallothioneins (MTs), metalloenzymes, and gene regulatory proteins. The role of Zn in the reproductive system is of great importance; processes, such as spermatogenesis and sperm maturation that occur in the testicle and epididymis, respectively, depend on this element for their development and function. Zn modulates the synthesis of androgens, such as testosterone, for these reproductive processes, so Zn deficiency is related to alterations in sperm parameters that lead to male infertility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Zinc in the Health and Disease)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop