Finally, chronic alcohol abuse also induces many nutritional derangements, including zinc deficiency. Zinc is a trace element that is essential for normal host immune responses, protein metabolism, the function of more than 300 zinc metalloenzymes, and membrane integrity (Tudor et al., 2005;Zalewski, 2006;Zalewski et al., 2005). Immune functions appear to be particularly dependent on zinc bioavailability, and zinc deficiency has been implicated in many aspects of T and B lymphocyte functions as well in innate immunity. Zinc also is critical for the synthesis and function of multiple antioxidants, and zinc deficiency impairs an individual’s defense against oxidative stress (Tudor et al., 2005). Although zinc deficiency has been most extensively studied in the liver, recent reviews have summarized important facets of zinc metabolism in pulmonary disorders including asthma (Truong-Tran et al., 2001;Zalewski, 2006;Zalewski et al., 2005). Based on these observations, we recently began investigating the potential role of zinc deficiency in the experimental alcoholic lung. We determined that chronic alcohol ingestion alters the expression of key zinc transporters in the gut and lung epithelia, and decreases zinc levels in the alveolar
