Researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine were able to create detailed blueprints for how zinc moves through the body. In doing so, they gained valuable insights into how the body maintains homeostasis.

Zinc is carried through the body by the protein serum albumin. Scientists had expected there would be a primary binding site where serum albumin binds with zinc, and the UVA researchers proved the location of that site. But the team, led by Wladek Minor also found several more secondary binding sites, revealing a more complex interaction than anticipated.

"It's different than it was predicted before," said researcher Katarzyna Handing.

Since serum albumin also transports hormones and fatty acids through the body, doctors now have a more complete idea of how homeostasis is achieved.

"Homeostasis is extremely important, and it can be affected by the level of zinc you are taking into your body. But it can be also affected by other elements," Handing said. "If you have an elevated level of fatty acids, for example as a result of diabetes or obesity, the zinc homeostasis can be disturbed."

Ivan G. Shabalin, a research scientist in Minor's lab, noted that the research could help shed light on why certain drugs affect some patients differently than others.

"We are going towards an understanding of all these complex relationships," he said. "You have this one molecule [serum albumin], and you have hundreds—possibly thousands—of different molecules which bind to it. We need to understand all this interplay. By studying zinc binding to albumin, we are understanding this relationship deeper."