Functional studies of Drosophila zinc transporters reveal the mechanism for dietary zinc absorption and regulation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Zinc is key to the function of many proteins, but the process of dietary zinc absorption is not well clarified. Current knowledge about dietary zinc absorption is fragmented, and mostly derives from incomplete mammalian studies. To gain a comprehensive picture of this process, we systematically characterized all zinc transporters (that is, the Zip and ZnT family members) for their possible roles in dietary zinc absorption in a genetically amenable model organism, Drosophila melanogaster.

Results

A set of plasma membrane-resident zinc transporters was identified to be responsible for absorbing zinc from the lumen into the enterocyte and the subsequent exit of zinc to the circulation. dZip1 and dZip2, two functionally overlapping zinc importers, are responsible for

SUBMITTER: Qin Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4015762 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature