기초과학 자율운영 중점연구소

생명과학과에서 아래와 같이 세미나를 실시합니다.

많은 관심과 참여 부탁드립니다.

주관: 기초과학연구소(자율운영 중점연구소지원사업)

일시: 2025년 11월 27일 목요일 17:00

장소: 원천관 242호

연사: 류문선 교수(연세대학교 식품영양학과)

주제: From Molecules to Populations: Understanding Zinc’s Role in Anemia

Zinc plays a critical role in red blood cell development, yet the mechanisms that connect zinc

availability, heme production, and individual susceptibility to anemia have not been fully

understood. Our recent work identifies the zinc transporter SLC39A10 (ZIP10) as a central

regulator of erythroid zinc homeostasis and demonstrates how both cellular zinc status and

population-specific genetics shape this process. In differentiating erythroid progenitors, zinc

deficiency disrupts early steps of heme biosynthesis and triggers a strong compensatory

increase in ZIP10 expression, whereas loss of ZIP10 exacerbates zinc depletion and further

impairs heme production. Complementing these cellular findings, large-scale genomic

analyses revealed several ZIP10 missense variants enriched in African ancestry populations;

two of these variants significantly reduce zinc uptake in functional assays by altering

conserved histidine residues required for transporter activity. These variants show

associations with hemoglobin levels and anemia-related traits, suggesting that genetic

differences in ZIP10 contribute to inter-individual variability in zinc utilization and sensitivity

to zinc deficiency. Together, these integrated molecular and genetic findings highlight ZIP10

as a key determinant of zinc-dependent erythropoiesis and support the potential of

genotype-informed nutritional strategies to improve anemia prevention and public health.