Selective distribution of zinc to tissues in need
NutrienTech LLC scientists have focused on one of the most important components of the innate system that is responsible for inducing localized zinc deficiencies in affected tissues. This substance is called CALPROTECTIN. Calprotectin makes up approximately 60% of the protein in the neutrophils and macrophages of the blood, and in fact, is the major intracellular protein that these cells produce. This is consistent with the role for neutrophils and macrophages, that are attracted to sites of infection, where they release their contents to control the growth of infectious microbes. Scientists at NutrienTech LLC are engaged in research that investigates the mechanisms by which calprotectin sequesters zinc, and are using this information to develop compounds that block a portion of this zinc binding. In people that have a hyperreactive innate immune system due to increased production and/or release of calprotectin, a compound that attenuates the binding of zinc by calprotectin can reduce the “massive” sequestration of zinc to a range that is seen in “normal” people (ie, the zinc that is available to invading microbes is reduced, but not to the extent where the person also suffers a local zinc deficiency). To accomplish this goal, NutrienTech LLC scientists currently are evaluating a number of synthetic and naturally-occurring compounds that act as zinc nutrikines in the body and selectively interact with calprotectin. Some of the types compounds under consideration are omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and monoclonal antibodies.
NutrienTech LLC
