“Zinc homeostasis and zinc signaling in white matter development and injury”

Publication date: Available online 4 May 2019Source: Neuroscience LettersAuthor(s): Christopher ElittAbstractZinc in an essential dietary micronutrient that is abundant in the brain with diverse roles in development, injury and neurological diseases. With new imaging tools and chelators selectively targetingzinc, the field of zinc biology is rapidly expanding. The importance ofzinc homeostasis is now well recognized in neurodegeneration but there isemerging data that zinc may be equally important in white matterdisorders. This review provides an overview on zinc biology, includingdiscussion of clinical disorders of zinc deficiency, different zincpools, zinc biomarkers, and methods for measuring zinc. It emphasizesour limited understanding of how zinc is regulated in oligodendrocytesand white matter. Gaps in knowledge about zinc transporters and zincsignaling are discussed. Zinc-induced oligodendrocyte injury pathwaysrelevant to white matter stroke, multiple sclerosis, and white matterinjury of prematurity are reviewed and examples of zinc-dependentproteins relevant to myelination highlighted. Finally, a novelratiometric zinc sensor is reviewed, revealing new information aboutmobile zinc during oligodendrocyte differentiation. With a betterunderstanding of zinc biology in oligodendrocytes, new therapeutictargets for white matter disorders may be possible and the necessarytools to appropriately study zinc are finally available
Source: Neuroscience Letters - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research