Dietary zinc deficiency promotes lung infection by Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria -; a leading cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to a new study published Nov. 15 in the journal Nature Microbiology . A Vanderbilt University Medical Center-led team of researchers discovered an unexpected link between the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-13 (IL-13) and A.
baumannii lung infection, and they demonstrated that blocking IL-13 prevented infection-associated death in an animal model. The findings suggest that anti-IL-13 antibodies, which are FDA-approved for use in humans, may protect against bacterial pneumonia in patients with zinc deficiency. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing that neutralization of IL-13 could prevent mortality from a bacterial infection.
This discovery points to the possibility of using anti-IL-13 therapy in patients with zinc deficiency and A. baumannii pneumonia as part of a personalized therapy approach." Eric Skaar, PhD, MPH, the Ernest W.
Goodpasture Professor of Pathology and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation Nearly 20% of the world's population is at risk for zinc deficiency, which can impair immune function and is a major risk factor for pneumonia. The World Health Organization considers zinc deficiency a leading contributor to disease and death. Patients at risk for zinc deficiency, particularly critically ill and elderly patients, are also at risk for A.
baumannii infe.
