Zinc Administration Restores the Impaired Immune Response Observed in Mice Receiving Excess Copper by Oral Route

Abstract

To study if treatment with zinc (Zn) was able to restore to normal levels the depressed immune response determined by oral administration of excess copper (Cu), groups of mice receiving 100 ppm or 200 ppm of Cu in the drinking water for 8 weeks, were injected ip once a week with Zn (1.14 mg/kg of body weight), throughout the experimental period. Administration of Zn restored to normal levels the proliferative response to mitogens and the antibody response to sheep red blood cells in the group of mice receiving 100 ppm of Cu in the drinking water. Similarly, the treatment with Zn significantly enhanced the depressed proliferative response to mitogens and the antibody response to sheep red blood cells of mice receiving 200 ppm of Cu in the drinking water. By contrast, increment in Zn supply was not able to modify the high production of auto-antibodies observed in animals receiving excess Cu. The results suggest that the impairment of the immune response observed in animals receiving excess Cu could be in part due to antagonistic interactions between this cation and Zn.

Dietary copper affects antioxidant and immune activity in hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis aureus)

“…The immunomodulatory properties of Cu have been proved in many different animals, such as chickens (Arias & Koutsos, ), mice (Massie, Ofosuappiah, & Aiello, ; Pocino, Malave, & Baute, ) and fish (Roales & Perlmutter, ). The effect of Cu on immunology has also been reported in many fish species.…”

Chronic Exposure to High Levels of Zinc or Copper has Little Effect on Brain Metal Homeostasis or Aβ Accumulation in Transgenic APP-C100 Mice

“…The transgenic mice were given drinking water containing varying amounts of ZnSO 4 (500, 1000 and 5,000 ppm Zn) or CuSO 4 (100 and 300 ppm Cu) for periods of up to 8 weeks, and their bodyweights were monitored and general health was observed on a daily basis. Maximum metal levels chosen for the pilot experiment were based on published experiments in which mice or rats had been fed with Cu or Zn salts (Cunnane et al 1986;Massie and Aiello 1979;Olafson 1983;Pocino et al 1991Pocino et al , 1990Sato et al 1997;Zhang et al 1994). After 2 weeks, mice fed with 5,000 ppm Zn showed a considerably reduced water intake, and appeared sickly and dehydrated, at which point this feeding dose was ceased.…”

Effect of copper and zinc supplementation on peripheral leukocytes in neutropenia due to copper deficiency

“…Although zinc supplementation raised serum zinc concentrations to above the control levels, it did not augment numbers of circulating lymphocytes, nor did it enhance responses of lymphocytes to mitogens. Since zinc has been found to restore the immune response when it was impaired by excess copper, 10 prior to our study, we speculated that zinc infusion might augment the effect of copper supplementation in restoring an impaired immune response due to copper deficiency, but we did not observe such synergy between copper and zinc supplementation. The reason for this is that though there is a relationship between copper and zinc in the modulation of lymphocyte growth, they inhibit each other at low concentrations 29 .…”

“…Zinc is also an essential nutrient for the maintenance of immunity 8 . Although there is evidence for the effects of copper deficiency and supplementation on several lymphocytes in humans, 9 and that zinc modulates lymphocyte function when there is a copper excess, 10 the effect of zinc supplementation in the case of copper deficiency has not been clarified.…”