Essential trace metals in health and disease

Abstract

Essential trace metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, Co) are involved in high number of physiological and metabolic activities and therefore have a substantial role in organisms. Thus, their balance is tightly regulated by levels of absorption, transport, and storage in the organism. They can alter human health in both deficiency and overload conditions. On one hand, deficiency health problems are due to reduction of their physiological activities. On the other hand, Fe, Cu and Co are redox active metals and their increase can cause severe tissue damage through oxidative stress. Numerous well-established diseases like iron and copper deficiency anemia, hemochromatosis, Menkes and Wilson disease, acrodermatitis enteropathica are consequence of essential metal alterations. Nowadays, trace metals alterations are also found to be implicated in neurodegenerative disease, cancers, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Those diseases represent enormous health problems in contemporary society and trace metals might help to further elucidate their pathogenesis and potentially even treatment. In the present study, essential trace metals kinetic and physiology are reviewed, as well as their roles in disease pathophysiology.