Role of Zinc in Different Body Systems

What is it about?

Zinc plays multiple roles in metabolism, which can be classified into three major categories: catalytic, structural and regulatory functions [1, 2]. Zinc functions as a component of the catalytic site of various enzymes (termed metalloenzymes), which was first described by Keilin and Mann in 1939 after demonstrating that the enzyme carbonic anhydrase (an essential enzyme involved in the metabolism of carbon dioxide) requires zinc for proper catalytic function [3]. In the catalytic site of carbonic anhydrase, zinc was found to function as a Lewis acid by accepting a pair of electrons [3]. In a similar manner, zinc also is essential for the catalytic function of multiple other enzymes including alcohol dehydrogenase, matrix metalloproteinases, alkaline phosphatase and various RNA polymerases [4–6].

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