Fundamental research on the prevention of zinc deficiency using zinc transport ligands

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26560071
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Eating habits
• Research Institution: Kobe Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: kawai yuichi 神戸学院大学, 薬学部, 教授 (00102921)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ONODERA Akira 神戸学院大学, 薬学部, 助教 (40598380)
• Research Collaborator: NEZU Natsumi ; IHIBASHI Takafumi ; SHIMOBEPU Rina
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 亜鉛 / 腸管上皮 / トランスポーター

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The recommended consumption of zinc per day is approximately 5 mg for infants and 15 mg for children and adults. Zinc is absorbed from the intestine, and the amount of absorption is regulated by intestinal epithelial cells that express zinc transporters. Reduced function of zinc transporters is one of the reasons to cause the symptoms of zinc deficiency, and patients with a zinc deficiency are prescribed zinc in an amount that is approximately 6-10 times that of the recommended consumption per day. We thought that identification of ligands that can efficiently transport zinc could lead to treatments that may prevent and reduce symptoms of zinc deficiency. In this study, we identified three types of ligands that increased the uptake efficiency of intestinal epithelial cells, and a zinc complex that included these ligands was confirmed to be effective in treating obesity and osteoporosis associated with zinc deficiency in animal experiments.

Free Research Field

分子生物学