Immunobiology of zinc

and zinc therapy In a recent article in Immunology Today, Wellinghausen et al.1 reviewed the various interactions between zinc and the immune system. The authors clearly pointed out that zinc (zinc ions and/or chelated zinc) plays an important role in the maintenance of im-mune function. Zinc deficiency results in hypoplasia of the immune system, impaired immune response, poor wound healing, diminished T-cell dependent reactions, and attenuated chemotaxis by neutrophils and monocytes. It should be underlined, how-ever, that zinc therapy has to be discussed very carefully and a number of importan