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Review
. 2022 Apr 30:5:203-207.
doi: 10.1016/j.crphys.2022.04.001. eCollection 2022.

Zinc and its role in vitamin D function

Ashton Amos  1 , Mohammed S Razzaque  1
Affiliations
Review

Zinc and its role in vitamin D function

Ashton Amos et al. Curr Res Physiol. .

Abstract

Zinc is an essential mineral with an important relationship with vitamin D. Studies have found that reduced blood zinc levels could predict vitamin D deficiency in adolescent girls, while zinc supplementation increased vitamin D levels in postmenopausal women. In vitro studies using human peritoneal macrophages have found that zinc induced the release of calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol). Zinc also acts as a cofactor for vitamin D functions, as the transcriptional activity of vitamin D-dependent genes relies on zinc to exert pleiotropic functions, including mineral ion regulation. Vitamin D could also induce zinc transporters to regulate zinc homeostasis. Together, zinc and vitamin D in adequate concentrations help maintain a healthy musculoskeletal system and beyond; however, deficiency in either of these nutrients can result in various disorders affecting almost all body systems. This brief article will focus on the role of zinc in vitamin D functions.

Keywords: Deficiency; Interactions; Sources; Vitamin D; Zinc.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The zinc deficiency is widespread and can affect the functionality of various systems of the body.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Zinc and vitamin D interactions. This figure shows how vitamin D can induce zinc transporter protein (ZnT10) to regulate zinc homeostasis (Claro da Silva et al., 2016).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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