Mitochondrial zinc toxicity

Zinc is a vital trace metal in mammalians, essential for immune function, secretory processes, DNA, RNA and protein synthesis, enzymatic catalysis, cell division, and other biological processes. Its paradoxical and elusive role in intracellular signaling has drawn the attention of researchers over the past decades. Zn2 + is transported into many cellular compartments, including the mitochondria, where it can impact key processes such as metabolism and cell death. In this chapter, we describe the pathways and mechanisms through which Zn2 + enters the mitochondria, interacts with the machinery of cellular respiration, and mediates mitochondrial dynamics. Moreover, this chapter underlines the effect of the variability in experimental conditions, such as the concentration of Zn2 + and other metabolites in culture media, in the cellular response observed with Zn2 + treatment.