FIGURE 1.

The host limits the absorption of zinc by bacteria. Keratinocytes secrete psoriasin to sequester metals and prevent infection. In the infected tissue, neutrophils that release calprotectin and calgranulin C are recruited, which inhibits bacterial invasion by chelating Zn²⁺. In addition, host cells mobilize Zn²⁺ into or out of the cytoplasm through two tissue-specific Zn²⁺ transporters: Zrt/Irt-like protein (ZIP) and ZnT. In the cytosol, metallothioneins (MTs) bind Zn²⁺ to reserve, buffer, and chelate and enter or leave intracellular organelles and vesicles through ZnT and ZIP transporters.