Immunodepression in end-stage renal disease has been associated with zinc deficiency. In a controlled study serum zinc levels, serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), and tetanus IgG antibody titers were measured in 65 hemodialysis patients before and after intravenous zinc supplementation for 2 months. The hemodialysis patients had significantly lower predialysis serum zinc concentrations compared to healthy controls (63 +/- 1.65 versus 126 +/- 4.6 micrograms/dl, P < 0.001). Serum zinc concentrations increased to the normal range in the zinc-treated patients. After zinc substitution tetanus antibody titers rose significantly (0.81 +/- 0.12 versus 1.22 +/- 0.12 U/ml, P < 0.01). Pretreatment sIL-2R levels were elevated in 95% of examined patients. A further increase in sIL-2R was observed after zinc supplementation (234 +/- 14 versus 285 +/- 21 U/ml, P < 0.05). The results suggest that zinc induces the activation of T lymphocytes and T-cell dependent B lymphocytes in chronic uremic patients in vivo.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.