Nutrients such as copper and zinc are needed by the body in small amounts. Zinc is particularly beneficial for the immune system, where it has the following uses:
Zinc also plays an important role in one of the immune system's major organs - the thymus gland.
Located in the upper chest, the thymus gland contains T-cells and macrophages. In addition to helping T-cells mature, the thymus gland also makes hormones (called thymic hormones). Although researchers have found several thymic hormones, they don't know the precise function of all of them. Below is a list of some thymic hormones:
Certainly, some thymic hormones can enhance the functioning of T-cells. Some researchers have used thymic hormones to improve the immune response in subjects with HIV, cancer and hepatitis B and C. Reports on some of these products appear in TreatmentUpdate 61, 52, 39 and 17.
Since the mid-1980s, researchers have found that HIV positive people are likely to have less-than-normal levels of zinc in their blood. In people with AIDS, the deficiency of zinc is often more severe. Not surprisingly, some researchers thought that supplements of zinc for people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) would help strengthen their immune systems.
In the time before highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), results from one clinical trial suggested that supplements of zinc decreased the risk of life-threatening infections and helped to increase weight and CD4+ cell counts in PHAs - see TreatmentUpdate 66 for details. All of this information suggests that zinc is very important for the health of PHAs.
The body can experience a shortage of zinc and other nutrients because of the following complications:
Under normal conditions, the level of zinc in the blood is greater than that of copper. But in cases of cancer and infections, including HIV, levels of copper rise as zinc is moved from the blood to the tissues, where it is needed. In the short term, this change helps the body adapt to fighting tumours and/or infections. Therefore, in the case of long-term (chronic) infections such as HIV, the body's need for zinc increases.
University of Miami researchers Marianna Baum and Gail Shor-Posner have been studying the impact of zinc and other nutrients on the immune systems of PHAs for over a decade. In the following article, we report on results from one of their recently published studies on the effect of zinc on survival in PHAs.
REFERENCES
1. Mocchegiani F, Veccia S, Ancarani F, et al. Benefit of oral zinc supplementation as an adjunct to zidovudine (AZT) therapy against opportunistic infections in AIDS. International Journal of Immunopharmacology 1995;17(9):719-727.
2. Hadden JW. The treatment of zinc deficiency is an immunotherapy. International Journal of Immunopharmacology 1995;17(9):697-701.
3. Sarin PS, Sun DK, Thornton AH, et al. Neutralization of HTLV-III/LAV replication by antiserum to thymosin alpha1. Science 1986;232:1135-1137.
4. Dardenne M, Savino W, Berrih S and Bach JF. A zinc-dependent epitope on the molecule of thymulin, a thymic hormone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 1985;82:7035-7038.
5. Fabris N, Mocchegiani E, Galli M, et al. AIDS, zinc deficiency, and thymic hormone failure. Journal of the American Medical Association 1988;259(6):839-840.
6. Graham NMH, Sorenson D, Odaka N, et al. Relationship of serum copper and zinc levels to HIV-1 seropositivity and progression to AIDS. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 1991;4(10):976-980.
7. Hrgovic M, Tessmer CF, Thomas FB, et al. Serum copper observations in patients with malignant lymphoma. Cancer 1973;32:1512-1524.
8. Cousins RJ and Leinart AS. Tissue specific regulation of zinc metabolism and metallothionein genes by interleukin 1. Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal 1988;2:2884-2890.
9. Lai H, Lai S, Shor-Posner G, et al. Plasma zinc, copper, copper:zinc ratio, and survival in a cohort of HIV-1-infected homosexual men. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2001;27:56-62.
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Copyright © 2001 - TreatmentUpdate. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Editor, The Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange, 555 Richmond St. West, Suite 505, Box 1104, Toronto, ON, M5V 3B1 • Phone: 416-203-7122 • Toll Free: 1-800-263-1638 • Fax: 416-203-8284 http://www.catie.ca.
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