PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Potential diagnostic marker for zinc status offers insights into the effects of zinc deficiency

New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that this newly discovered compound can successfully mediate the harmful effects of zinc deprivation, and is actually produced as a result of low zinc in the body

2013-08-29
(Press-News.org) Bethesda, MD -- According to new research published in The FASEB Journal, a drop in blood zinc levels does not directly harm the blood vessel cells. Rather, zinc regulates the production of a small molecular compound, which then circulates in the blood and causes harmful blood vessel cell effects. Additionally, not only will having adequate amounts of zinc prevent the creation of this compound, but it can protect you when the compound is circulating in your blood.

"Zinc deficiency afflicts two billion people worldwide and our study has revealed a zinc-regulated small compound in blood that mediates the harmful effects of zinc deprivation," said John H. Beattie, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, U.K. "Measurement of this compound in blood may prove very valuable, not only in assessing, for example, the risk of developing heart attack or stroke, but also as a diagnostic test for zinc status."

To make this discovery, Beattie and colleagues cultured cells from rat blood vessels and exposed them for 24 hours to the blood plasma from rats that had been given food low or adequate in zinc. Then they examined the gene expression profile to identify which genes changed when exposed to blood plasma from low zinc rats. Dramatic changes in some gene activities were found when comparing blood plasma treatments from low and adequate zinc rats. Then the scientists removed the zinc from the zinc-adequate blood plasma and saw that it had no effect on gene activity, suggesting that that there was a harmful compound produced in response to zinc deficiency and that its effects on blood vessel cells is abolished by zinc.

"Most people might think of zinc as a kind of food supplement," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "but zinc deficiency is a serious matter. Understanding how zinc deficiency affects the body is important, not just because it can help us how to treat this deficiency, but also because it presents a new way to detect low zinc in the body that is faster and easier than current methods."

###

Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is among the most cited biology journals worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.

FASEB is composed of 27 societies with more than 110,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

Details: Ou Ou, Keith Allen-Redpath, Dagmar Urgast, Margaret-Jane Gordon, Gill Campbell, Jörg Feldmann, Graeme F. Nixon, Claus-Dieter Mayer, In-Sook Kwun, and John H. Beattie. Plasma zinc's alter ego is a low-molecular-weight humoral factor. FASEB J September 2013 27:3672-3682, doi:10.1096/fj.13-228791 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/27/9/3672.abstract


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Clemson University researchers: Protect corridors to save tigers, leopards

2013-08-29
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Research by Clemson University conservation geneticists makes the case that landscape-level tiger and leopard conservation that includes protecting the corridors the big cats use for travel between habitat patches is the most effective conservation strategy for their long-term survival. Sandeep Sharma and Trishna Dutta, with colleagues from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, reveal their findings in articles in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences and Evolutionary Applications. Their articles say that forest corridors ...

Research suggests perfectionism and work motivation contribute to workaholism

2013-08-29
Research from psychologists at the University of Kent suggests that being a perfectionist and highly motivated at work contributes directly to being a workaholic. Led by Dr Joachim Stoeber, Head of the University's School of Psychology, the research team set out to explore the previously under-researched reasons why some people feel the need to work both excessively and compulsively. Dr Stoeber and his team researched the links between workaholism and two forms of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, whereby someone sets exceedingly high standards for themselves, ...

Researchers track antibiotic-resistant strains of Salmonella from farm to fork

2013-08-29
Continuing research on Salmonella may enable researchers to identify and track strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria as they evolve and spread, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Tracing the transmission of individual strains from agricultural environments to humans through the food system is difficult because of the rapid evolution of resistance patterns in these bacteria. Resistance patterns change so quickly that, until now, it has been impossible to determine where some highly resistant strains are coming from. Michael ...

'Safe' levels of environmental pollution may have long-term health consequences

2013-08-29
Bethesda, MD—If you're eating better and exercising regularly, but still aren't seeing improvements in your health, there might be a reason: pollution. According to a new research report published in the September issue of The FASEB Journal, what you are eating and doing may not be the problem, but what's in what you are eating could be the culprit. "This study adds evidences for rethinking the way of addressing risk assessment especially when considering that the human population is widely exposed to low levels of thousands of chemicals, and that the health impact of ...

Statins may slow human aging by protecting against telomere shortening: A feature of senescent cells

2013-08-29
Bethesda, MD—Not only do statins extend lives by lowering cholesterol levels and reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease, but new research in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that they may extend lifespans as well. Specifically, statins may reduce the rate at which telomeres shorten, a key factor in the natural aging process. This opens the door for using statins, or derivatives of statins, as an anti-aging therapy. "By telomerase activation, statins may represent a new molecular switch able to slow down senescent cells in our tissues and be ...

Sunlight induced DNA crash

2013-08-29
Summer, sun and the sea – a dream vacation for most - can turn sour for those affected by lupus erythematosus. For them, absorption of the UV-light component in sunlight may cause florid inflammation and redness of the skin. Scientists of the University Hospital Bonn, Germany have now discovered which signaling pathway of the innate immune system promotes autoimmune symptoms following sun-induced DNA damage. The results are now published online in the academic journal Immunity. Lupus erythematosus (LE) is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system erroneously attacks ...

Learning a new language alters brain development

2013-08-29
The age at which children learn a second language can have a significant bearing on the structure of their adult brain, according to a new joint study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital - The Neuro at McGill University and Oxford University. The majority of people in the world learn to speak more than one language during their lifetime. Many do so with great proficiency particularly if the languages are learned simultaneously or from early in development. The study concludes that the pattern of brain development is similar if you learn one or two language ...

Now hear this: Scientists discover compound to prevent noise-related hearing loss

2013-08-29
Bethesda, MD -- Your mother was right when she warned you that loud music could damage your hearing, but now scientists have discovered exactly what gets damaged and how. In a research report published in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists describe exactly what type of damage noise does to the inner ear, and provide insights into a compound that may prevent noise-related damage. "Noise-induced hearing loss, with accompanying tinnitus and sound hypersensitivity is a common condition which leads to communication problems and social isolation," ...

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital study yields new strategy against high-risk leukemia

2013-08-29
(Memphis, Tenn. – August 29, 2013) St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified a protein that certain high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells need to survive and have used that knowledge to fashion a more effective method of killing tumor cells. The findings appear in the August 29 edition of the journal Blood. The work focused on Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL (Ph-positive ALL), a high-risk cancer that accounts for about 40 percent of ALL in adults and about 5 percent in children. The disease is named for a chromosomal rearrangement ...

NASA infrared eye sees wind shear affecting Tropical Storm Kong-Rey

2013-08-29
Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite showed that Tropical Storm Kong-Rey's strongest thunderstorms were being pushed away from its center on its trek northward in the Western North Pacific Ocean. As Tropical Storm Kong-Rey moved past the northern Philippines NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of the storm that revealed wind shear was taking a toll on the storm. Tropical cyclones are made up of hundreds of thunderstorms, and the ones with the coldest cloud top temperatures shoot highest in the atmosphere and have a potential to drop heavy rain. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

[Press-News.org] Potential diagnostic marker for zinc status offers insights into the effects of zinc deficiency
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that this newly discovered compound can successfully mediate the harmful effects of zinc deprivation, and is actually produced as a result of low zinc in the body