The Importance of the Variability of Leucocyte Zinc Transporter 8 (ZnT8) Gene Expression

Abstract

The variability of ZnT8 expression in leukocytes develops in patients with a genetic predisposition to this condition and it decreases with age. Greater intercellular zinc accumulation may potentially provoke increased levels of its expression, as a support mechanism in zinc homeostasis. The occurrence of ZnT8 antibodies (ZnT8A) may result in leukocyte dysfunction, which is dependent i.a. on the level of ZnT8 expression. The same correlation can be observed in non-pancreatic tissues. ZnT8A occur in approximately 16.5% of research participants without any diabetes symptoms and the frequency of their occurrence decreases with age as well. The occurence of variability of ZnT8 expression in leukocytes and other tissues, and the occurrence of ZnT8A may be connected with development of autoimmune processes, not only such as diabetes mellitus t. 1.