Research on zinc signalling; its impact as drug target

Zinc is an essential inorganic nutrient for cell proliferation, differentiation and survival. Zinc deficiency or its homeostatic dysfunction is linked with the development of health disorders because it renders humans as more susceptible to diseases; in other words, zinc plays a crucial role in our homeostatic systems for health, such as immunity and nervous system. Professor Dr Toshiyuki Fukada, based at the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokushima Bunri University in Japan, is a leading expert in zinc signalling. He is an experienced researcher who has been studying the mechanistic and physiological significance of cellular signalling events for the last 25 years. Fukada points out that during the last few decades, a considerable number of studies have been carried out in an attempt to identify the true impact of zinc in the immune system and organogenesis, and perhaps more importantly, the means with which this nutritional deficiency can have such a profound impact on cell homeostasis in general. 'On the other hand, zinc transporters are transmembrane proteins that control the zinc level and its distribution in cells, and hence allow molecules in cells to receive, and/or release zinc, which affect the fates of downstream molecules,' he explains. 'This is exactly why zinc transporter-mediated zinc signals are considered to be indispensable for maintaining optimal cellular functions and physiological homeostasis.' Although zinc signalling is a novel platform in the life sciences field, research underway in the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Physiology aims to investigate zinc signalling at the molecular level, and more specifically to identify the role and the underlying mechanisms of zinc signalling involved in pathophysiological conditions such as bone diseases, connective tissues disorders, immunological diseases, skin disease and cancer, etc.