Zinc in Prostate Health and Disease: A Mini Review

Abstract

Introduction-With the high global prevalence of prostate cancer and associated mortalities, it is important to enhance current clinical practices for better prostate cancer outcomes. The current review is towards understanding the value of Zn towards this mission. Method-General information on Zn in biology and multiple aspects of Zn involvement in prostate health and disease were referred to in PubMed. Results-The most influential feature of Zn towards prostate health is its ability to retain sufficient citrate levels for a healthy prostate. Zn deficiencies were recorded in serum, hair, and prostate tissue of men with prostate cancer compared to non-cancer controls. Zn gut absorption, albumin binding, and storage compete with various factors. There are multiple associations of Zn cellular influx and efflux transporters, Zn finger proteins, matrix metalloproteinases, and Zn signaling with prostate cancer outcomes. Such Zn marker variations associated with prostate cancer recorded from biological matrices may improve algorithms for prostate cancer screening, prognosis, and management when coupled with standard clinical practices. Discussion-The influence of Zn in prostatic health and disease is multidimensional, therefore more personalized Zn requirements may be beneficial. Several opportunities exist to utilize and improve understanding of Zn associations with prostate health and disease.

Vaginal or Fecal Contamination Which Contributes to Parasite Existence in Urine Sediment

“…"T. vaginalis benefited from an iron-rich environment in the vagina, especially during menstruation because iron, an essential nutritional and metabolic element for T. vaginalis parasitism available in higher concentrations during menses and seems to be entangled in the resistance to complement lysis and contributes to the immune evasion" [82]. On the other hand, this parasite confronted with a belligerent and dangerous milieu of zinc-rich surrounding in the prostatic glands [84]. Zinc is a known antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and also antimicrobial chemical substance which act as first line of defense in humans [85].…”

Emerging Perspectives in Zinc Transporter Research in Prostate Cancer: An Updated Review

“…The prostatic fluid concentrates 3-5 times more zinc than the prostate epithelium and stroma, which presents similar zinc levels to soft tissues like the liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle (15-30 mg/kg) [21]. In prostate epithelial cells, zinc plays a specific metabolic role, promoting the production of citrate by blocking the mitochondrial enzyme aconitase [22][23][24][25]. In addition, zinc in the organelle lumen of the biosynthetic pathway, including the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi apparatus, and endosomal-lysosomal system, can inhibit specific proteases called kallikrein-related peptidase enzyme (KLK3, and KLK2, 5 and 14) [26][27][28].…”

Zinc Finger Proteins in the War on Gastric Cancer: Molecular Mechanism and Clinical Potential

“…As canonical transcription factors, zinc finger (ZNF) proteins play precisely defined regulatory roles in physiological processes, such as transcription translation, cell differentiation and embryonic growth, by binding specific nucleotide sequences upstream of genes [14]. Recent evidence reveals that the zinc finger protein (ZFP) family is of great importance in the molecular regulation of the genesis and propagation of human malignant tumors involving the colon, breast, liver, prostate and gastric carcinomas [15][16][17][18][19]. In recent decades, the association between ZFPs and GC has attracted much attention, especially in cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis, inflammation and immune infiltration, apoptosis, cell cycle, DNA methylation, cancer stem cells (CSCs), drug resistance and so on (Figure 1).…”