Zinc in leukemia

Zinc is one of the most essential trace elements in human organism. Low blood level of zinc is often noted in acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Leukemia results from the proliferation of a clone of abnormal hematopoietic cells with impaired differentiation, regulation and programmed cell death or apoptosis. It is defined by a rapid disease course with progress over weeks to months, ultimately culminating on bone marrow failure.

Zinc levels were found lower in acute leukocyte leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia. Zinc, the more prolific intracellular trace elements, exhibits the preventive effect on the gene mutations and transformation the cells through its effective antioxidant factor by its ability to obligation and protection the sulphydrys of the protein from radical attack.

Zinc may function therapeutically in leukemia by augmenting L-asparaginase in killing leukemic cells (since a zinc deficiency may induce free asparagine), and by stimulating cell mediated immunity.

It is believed to have been the only nutrient that could have had a positive interaction with any of the chemotherapeutic drugs in CCG protocol 161 regimen 2.

The majority of the zinc finger proteins play important roles in DNA binding, RNA binding, RNA packaging, and protein–protein interactions. A zinc finger is a small protein structural motif that is characterized by the coordination of one or more zinc ions in order to stabilize the fold.
Zinc in leukemia