Table 1.

Zinc functions in anti-viral immune response in the respiratory system

Target	Function	Outcomes
Respiratory epithelial barrier	Attenuation of apoptosis and para-cellular leakage	Maintaining the structure and function of the respiratory epithelium barrier Help to host defense
Immune cells	Increasing the numbers of T lymphocyte Enhancement of NK cells killer activity Regulation of Th1/Th2 balance Modulation of Treg functions Increasing the production of IFNα by leukocytes	Enhancement and regulation of immune response to respiratory viruses
Zip8	Induction of Zip8 expression	Amelioration of lung injury
ZAP	Zinc is present in zinc-finger motif	Attenuation of viral replication
A20 protein	Zinc is present in zinc-finger motif	Decreasing production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-8 and TNF-α Attenuation NF-kB activation
Zn-dependent metallopeptidase STE24 (ZMPSTE24)	Zinc is present in the active site of the enzyme	Inhibition of viral entry Restriction of enveloped RNA and DNA viruses