Zinc, oxidative stress and T lymphocyte signalling

该研究项目一直在研究锌在免疫功能和抗氧化防御中的作用。我们发现，缺锌不会改变胸腺中发育中的T细胞的比例。然而，当分析血液和脾中T细胞的亚型时，缺锌会减少新释放的T细胞(在胸腺中产生)的比例。我们还发现，缺锌大鼠胸腺和脾的T细胞中有一种名为Lck的蛋白质升高。我们认为，与缺锌相关的氧化应激和细胞内游离锌的变化有助于细胞信号的改变和免疫细胞类型和功能的改变。目前应用的总体目标是确定缺锌和氧化应激对T细胞信号的各种成分的影响，以及与细胞应激和细胞内锌标记的关系。另一个目的是在慢性氧化应激模型中研究膳食缺锌和补锌对T细胞亚群和T细胞功能的影响。这项研究计划有助于对营养免疫学的基础科学理解。

The research program has been investigating the role of zinc in immune function and antioxidant defense. We have found that zinc deficiency does not alter the proportions of developing T cells in the thymus. However, zinc deficiency reduces the proportion of the newly released T cells (which were produced in the thymus) when the subtypes of T cells in the blood and spleen are analyzed. We have also found that a protein called 'Lck' is elevated in the T cells from the thymus and spleen of zinc-deficient rats. We are proposing that the oxidative stress associated with zinc deficiency and changes in the intracellular free zinc contribute to altered cell signaling and the changes in immune cell types and functions. The overall objective of the current application is to determine the effects of zinc deficiency and oxidative stress on various components of T cell signaling and the relationships with markers of cellular stress and intracellular zinc. Another objective is to investigate the effects of dietary zinc deficiency and zinc supplementation on T cell subpopulations and T cell function in a model of chronic oxidative stress. This research program contributes to the basic sciences understanding of nutritional immunology.