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Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Micronutrients and Human Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2023) | Viewed by 19390

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francesco Piacenza

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Experimental Animal Models for Aging Unit, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
Interests: nutrition; inflammation; aging; trace elements; mineral; epigenetic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Trace elements play a pivotal role in metabolic and physiological processes that help to maintain health with advancing age. Maintenance of an optimal bioavailable amount of each trace element, mediated by the coordinated efforts of metal uptake, storage and efflux processes to fulfill the requirement of a living cell has been defined as metallostasis. Levels of trace elements change in multiple tissues during aging but it is still debated if these changes are related to loss of metallostasis and if they are a cause or consequence of other alterations (i.e., immune, inflammatory and metabolic) occurring with aging and diseases. It is still also uncertain the impact of dietary habits, intervention or supplementation with selected trace elements on metallostasis and health of older adults with age related diseases.

This Special Issue aims to collect a series of original research and review articles addressing trace elements and minerals in aging and age-related pathologies. A special emphasis will be given to manuscripts addressing mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of metallostasis in healthy aging, changes in metallostasis in older adults with single or multiple age-related diseases, the contribution of changes in the tissue distribution of trace elements to healthspan in older adults, as well as to changes in trace elements that could be targeted with diagnostic, preventive or therapeutic purposes.

Suggested potential topics may be: metallomics or selected trace elements (zinc, copper, iron, selenium, iodine, chromium, boron, fluoride, manganese, molybdenum) in age-related pathologies; mechanisms of metallostasis failure in age-related chronic pathologies; impact of dietary habits, dietary intervention or supplementation with trace elements in aging and age-related pathologies, new therapeutic or diagnostic tools targeting trace elements; trace elements and multimorbidity.

Dr. Francesco Piacenza
Guest Editor

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Keywords

trace elements
minerals
metallomics
aging
age-related disease
metallostasis
healthspan
zinc, copper
iron
selenium
manganese
calcium
phosphorus
potassium
sodium
chloride
magnesium
iron
iodine
chromium
fluoride
molybdenum
manganese

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Uncovering the Relationship between Selenium Status, Age, Health, and Dietary Habits: Insights from a Large Population Study including Nonagenarian Offspring from the MARK-AGE Project

by Robertina Giacconi, Francesco Piacenza, Valentina Aversano, Michele Zampieri, Alexander Bürkle, María Moreno Villanueva, Martijn E. T. Dollé, Eugène Jansen, Tilman Grune, Efstathios S. Gonos, Claudio Franceschi, Miriam Capri, Birgit Weinberger, Ewa Sikora, Olivier Toussaint, Florence Debacq-Chainiaux, Wolfgang Stuetz, Pieternella Eline Slagboom, Jürgen Bernhardt, Maria Luisa Fernández-Sánchez, Mauro Provinciali and Marco Malavolta Show full author list Hide full author list

Nutrients 2023, 15(9), 2182; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092182 - 4 May 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2613

Abstract

An inadequate selenium (Se) status can accelerate the aging process, increasing the vulnerability to age-related diseases. The study aimed to investigate plasma Se and Se species in a large population, including 2200 older adults from the general population (RASIG), 514 nonagenarian offspring (GO), and 293 GO Spouses (SGO). Plasma Se levels in women exhibit an inverted U-shaped pattern, increasing with age until the post-menopausal period and then declining. Conversely, men exhibit a linear decline in plasma Se levels with age. Subjects from Finland had the highest plasma Se values, while those from Poland had the lowest ones. Plasma Se was influenced by fish and vitamin consumption, but there were no significant differences between RASIG, GO, and SGO. Plasma Se was positively associated with albumin, HDL, total cholesterol, fibrinogen, and triglycerides and negatively associated with homocysteine. Fractionation analysis showed that Se distribution among plasma selenoproteins is affected by age, glucometabolic and inflammatory factors, and being GO or SGO. These findings show that sex-specific, nutritional, and inflammatory factors play a crucial role in the regulation of Se plasma levels throughout the aging process and that the shared environment of GO and SGO plays a role in their distinctive Se fractionation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases)

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11 pages, 678 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Comparison of Fractional Absorption of Zinc Sulphate, Zinc Gluconate, and Zinc Aspartate after Oral Supple-Mentation in Healthy Human Volunteers

by Francesco Piacenza, Robertina Giacconi, Laura Costarelli and Marco Malavolta

Nutrients 2023, 15(8), 1885; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15081885 - 13 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3527

Abstract

(1) Background: Zinc is generally used as a nutritional supplement for individuals at nutritional risk, such as older adults. This preliminary study investigated the fractional Zn absorption (FZA) after the supplementation on eight healthy volunteers with three different Zn complexes acquired with milk. (2) Methods: The design was a double-blind, three-period crossover trial. The volunteers were randomly divided into three groups. Each individual consumed 200 mL of bovine milk and rotated through a simultaneous administration of a single oral dose of ⁷⁰ZnSO₄, ⁷⁰Zn-Gluconate (⁷⁰Zn-Glu), and ⁷⁰Zn-Aspartate (⁷⁰Zn-Asp), equivalent to 2.0 mg ⁷⁰Zn, followed by 2 weeks of wash-out. An estimation of the FZA for comparative purposes was computed by the isotopic ratio between ⁶⁶Zn and ⁷⁰Zn in urine collected before and 48 h after administration. (3) Results: The estimated FZA was found to be significantly higher for ⁷⁰Zn-Asp when compared to the other forms, while the FZA of ⁷⁰Zn-Glu was found to be significantly higher than ⁷⁰ZnSO₄. (4) Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that complexing Zn with aspartate in milk could be a useful tool to improve FZA in individuals at risk of Zn deficiency. These results provide a rationale for conducting further studies on Zn-Asp preparations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases)

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13 pages, 509 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Minerals and Antioxidant Micronutrients Levels and Clinical Outcome in Older Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 during the First Wave of the Pandemic

by Clément Lahaye, François Parant, Julie Haesebaert, Karine Goldet, Lamia Bendim’red, Laetitia Henaff, Mitra Saadatian-Elahi, Philippe Vanhems, Charlotte Cuerq, Thomas Gilbert, Emilie Blond, Muriel Bost and Marc Bonnefoy

Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1516; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061516 - 21 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2933

Abstract

Excessive inflammatory response has been implicated in severe respiratory forms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Trace elements such as zinc, selenium, and copper are known to modulate inflammation and immunity. This study aimed to assess the relationships between antioxidant vitamins and mineral trace elements levels as well as COVID-19 severity in older adults hospitalized. In this observational retrospective cohort study, the levels of zinc, selenium, copper, vitamin A, β-carotene, and vitamin E were measured in 94 patients within the first 15 days of hospitalization. The outcomes were in-hospital mortality secondary to COVID-19 or severe COVID-19. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to test whether the levels of vitamins and minerals were independently associated with severity. In this cohort (average age of 78 years), severe forms (46%) were associated with lower zinc (p = 0.012) and β-carotene (p < 0.001) concentrations, and in-hospital mortality (15%) was associated with lower zinc (p = 0.009), selenium (p = 0.014), vitamin A (p = 0.001), and β-carotene (p = 0.002) concentrations. In regression analysis, severe forms remained independently associated with lower zinc (aOR 2.13, p = 0.018) concentrations, and death was associated with lower vitamin A (aOR = 0.165, p = 0.021) concentrations. Low plasma concentrations of zinc and vitamin A were associated with poor prognosis in older people hospitalized with COVID-19. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases)

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15 pages, 337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Association between Dietary Zinc Intake, Serum Zinc Level and Multiple Comorbidities in Older Adults

by Sirasa Ruangritchankul, Chutima Sumananusorn, Jintana Sirivarasai, Wutarak Monsuwan and Piyamitr Sritara

Nutrients 2023, 15(2), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020322 - 9 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3408

Abstract

Zinc is one of the essential micronutrients in the geriatric population, but the importance of zinc status and dietary zinc intake has been poorly characterized. We aimed to explore the relationships among dietary zinc intake, serum zinc concentrations and multimorbidity in a cross-sectional study of 300 employees of Electric Generating Authority of Thailand aged ≥ 60 years. Comprehensive questionnaires were completed, and clinical and laboratory assessments were performed. Factors associated with low serum zinc concentrations were identified using multivariate multinomial logistic regression analyses. The mean serum zinc level was 80.5 (12.8) µg/dL. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, being female and having been in education for ≤12 years were independent risk factors for the lowest tertile (T1) of serum zinc. After additional adjustment for clinical and biochemical parameters, there was a significant association between depression (Thai Geriatric Depression Scale-15 score > 5) and low serum zinc levels (T1 vs. T3, odds ratio (OR): 2.24; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–4.77). Furthermore, as serum albumin increased, serum zinc concentration substantially increased (T1 vs. T3, OR: 0.01; 95% CI: 0.002–0.070). Therefore, the early detection of risk factors and the further management of depression and low serum albumin may assist physicians in preventing low serum concentrations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases)

12 pages, 1544 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Selenium Forms and Dosages Determined Their Biological Actions in Mouse Models of Parkinson’s Disease

by Chongchong Sun, Zhongrui Du, Xin Liu, Ye Yang, Sainan Zhou, Chong Li, Xu Cao, Qing Zhao, Kahing Wong, Wenfang Chen and Xiaoli Dong

Nutrients 2023, 15(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15010011 - 20 Dec 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2815

Abstract

Selenium (Se), an essential antioxidant trace element, is reported to play a role in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, there is a lack of systematic studies on different Se forms against PD. Our study is designed to compare the neuroprotective effects of inorganic and organic Se in two classical PD mice models and investigate the underlying mechanisms for their potentially differential actions against PD. In this study, different dosages of inorganic sodium selenite (Se-Na) or organic seleno-L-methionine (Se-Met) were fed to either acute or chronic PD mice models, and their neuroprotective effects and mechanisms were explored and compared. Se-Na provided better neuroprotective effects in PD mice than Se-Met administered at the same but at a relatively low Se dosage. Se-Na treatment could influence GPX activities but not their mRNA expressions in the midbrains of PD mice. The enhanced GPX activities caused by Se-Na, but not Se-Met, in PD mice could be the major reason for the positive actions of inorganic Se to prevent dopaminergic neuronal loss in this study. In vivo bio-distribution experiments found MPTP injection greatly changed Se bio-distribution in mice, which led to reversed alterations in the bioavailability of Se-Met and Se-Na. Se-Na had higher bioavailability than Se-Met in PD mice, which could explain its better neuroprotective effects compared to Se-Met. Our results proved that Se forms and dosages determined their biological actions in mouse models of PD. Our study will provide valuable scientific evidence to researchers and/or medical professionals in using Se for PD prevention or therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases)

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14 pages, 1562 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation on the Association of Copper and Copper-to-Zinc-Ratio in Hair with Acute Coronary Syndrome Occurrence and Its Risk Factors

by Ewelina A. Dziedzic, Agnieszka Tuzimek, Jakub S. Gąsior, Justyna Paleczny, Adam Junka, Mirosław Kwaśny, Marek Dąbrowski and Piotr Jankowski

Nutrients 2022, 14(19), 4107; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14194107 - 3 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2671

Abstract

The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) increases every year; however, the impact of microelements on its underlying cause—atherosclerosis—is still unclear. Copper plays numerous regulatory roles in cardiovascular health and was suggested to influence the classic risk factors for CAD. The copper-to-zinc-ratio (Cu/Zn-ratio) reflects systemic oxidative stress–one of the factors in the complex pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Hair incorporates metal ions during its growth; thus, it reflects the metal exposure that occurred over the last 4–8 weeks. The aim of the presented study was to verify the association between Cu and Cu/Zn-ratio content and the occurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the hair of 133 patients who underwent coronary angiography due to suspected ACS. Additionally, association between Cu and Cu/Zn-ratio and selected risk factors for CAD was analyzed. Neither Cu nor Cu/Zn-ratio levels were associated with the occurrence of ACS, regardless of its type (UA/NSTEMI/STEMI). We did not find a significant association between Cu content in hair and risk factors for CAD. The Cu/Zn-ratio in hair was significantly correlated only with body mass index. The relationship of Cu content and Cu/Zn-ratio in hair with CAD, its risk factors and ACS appears to be complex and requires further well-designed research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trace Elements and Minerals in Aging and Age-Related Diseases)

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