Dietary zinc deficiency promotes lung infection by Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria—a leading cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to a 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 ," said Eric Skaar, Ph.
D., MPH, the Ernest W. Goodpasture Professor of Pathology and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation.
"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." 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. bau.
