Zinc bioavailability in alcohol-associated liver disease: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications

IF 10.3 2区医学 Q1 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Molecular Aspects of Medicine Pub Date : 2026-02-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-05 DOI:10.1016/j.mam.2025.101430

Yinrui Feng , Qingshan Yang , Dan Wang , Qing Chu , Zhenfang Zhou , Yundi Liu , Kefei Chen , Volker M. Lauschke

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a leading cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hepatic zinc deficiency is a consistent feature of ALD, yet the therapeutic efficacy of zinc supplementation remains limited. This review examines the causal role of zinc deficiency in ALD pathogenesis and highlights low zinc bioavailability as a key determinant in disease progression. We discuss the regulatory roles of zinc transporters (ZIPs, ZnTs), metallothioneins, and redox-sensitive ligands in maintaining zinc homeostasis. Furthermore, we introduce zinc-glutathione (ZnGSH) as a novel zinc formulation that improves intestinal absorption and hepatic utilization of zinc. Unlike conventional zinc salts, ZnGSH overcomes multiple physiological barriers to zinc uptake in ALD, offering enhanced bioavailability in both gut and liver tissues. Thus, supplementation with bioavailable zinc may present a promising therapeutic strategy for ALD and, potentially, also other chronic liver diseases.

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锌在酒精相关肝病中的生物利用度：机制和治疗意义

酒精相关性肝病（ALD）是世界范围内肝脏相关发病率和死亡率的主要原因。肝性锌缺乏是ALD的一贯特征，但锌补充剂的治疗效果仍然有限。这篇综述探讨了锌缺乏在ALD发病机制中的因果作用，并强调低锌的生物利用度是疾病进展的关键决定因素。我们讨论了锌转运蛋白（zip, znt），金属硫蛋白和氧化还原敏感配体在维持锌稳态中的调节作用。此外，我们还介绍了锌谷胱甘肽（ZnGSH）作为一种新的锌制剂，可以改善锌的肠道吸收和肝脏利用。与传统锌盐不同，ZnGSH克服了ALD中锌摄取的多种生理障碍，提高了肠道和肝脏组织的生物利用度。因此，补充生物可利用锌可能是一种有希望的治疗ALD的策略，也可能是其他慢性肝脏疾病的治疗策略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Molecular Aspects of Medicine 医学-生化与分子生物学

CiteScore

18.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

55 days

期刊介绍： Molecular Aspects of Medicine is a review journal that serves as an official publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It caters to physicians and biomedical scientists and aims to bridge the gap between these two fields. The journal encourages practicing clinical scientists to contribute by providing extended reviews on the molecular aspects of a specific medical field. These articles are written in a way that appeals to both doctors who may struggle with basic science and basic scientists who may have limited awareness of clinical practice issues. The journal covers a wide range of medical topics to showcase the molecular insights gained from basic science and highlight the challenging problems that medicine presents to the scientific community.