ZINC CONCENTRATION IN LEUKOCYTES : MONONUCLEAR CELLS, GRANULOCYTES, T-LYMPHOCYTES, NON-T LYMPHOCYTES AND MONOCYTES

This study was designed to evaluate the zinc concentrations of leukocytes: monon- uclear cells, granulocytes, T and non-T lymphocytes and monocytes.　　The zinc content of leukocytes was 0.137 ±0.040 μg/10⁷ cells. The zinc content of mononuclear cells (0.188±0.030 μg/10⁷ cells) was higher than in granulocytes (0.086± 0.023 μg/10⁷ cells) (p<0.001). The mononuclear cell-granulocyte ratio for zinc was approximately 2 : 1. There was no statistically significant difference between the zinc content of T lymphocytes and non-T lymphocytes. The zinc content of monocytes (0.337 ±0.026 μg/10⁷ cells) was highest in any other type of leukocyte (p<0.001).　　Zinc in leukocytes may, in part, influence immunity since zinc is an important part of the structure of many vital enzymes, including DNA polymerase, DNA dependent RNA polymerase and thymidine kinase, and plays a central role in cellular metabolism.