Effect of Acute Disease and ACTH on Serum Zinc Proteins

Abstract

The effect of acute disease and ACTH infusion on serum zinc proteins was studied in serums from 156 healthy and diseased subjects. The mean (±2 S.D.) zinc content of 20 normal serums was 96±20 μg per 100 ml. In 87 serums from acutely ill patients the zinc ranged from 92 to 40 μg per 100 ml. The mean values for nearly all categories of disease studied were lower than normal (P<0.001). Chromatography of normal serum on Sephadex G-100 separates two protein fractions, I and II, containing 37.8±8.8 and 76±10 μg of zinc per 100 ml, respectively. In serum from diseased patients the zinc in fraction I is unaltered where-as that in fraction II decreases to 29.8±7.5 μg per 100 ml (P<0.001). ACTH administration reduces serum zinc from 10 to 60 μg per 100 ml, the decrements being due to changes in the zinc content of fraction II. Thus, ACTH may have an important role in the reduction of zinc content associated with pathologic states. (N Engl J Med 296:1129–1134, 1977)