Fig. 8

Impact of Zinc on Insulin Secretion, β-Cell Health, and Insulin Signaling (↑): increased, (↓): decreased, () activation, (–I): inhibition (a) Zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8) facilitates zinc storage in insulin granules within pancreatic β-cells, playing a critical role in insulin storage. Aging and zinc deficiency increase IL-1, exacerbating IL-1-mediated activation of the NF-κB pathway, which leads to increased apoptosis β-cells. b Zinc plays a modulatory role in insulin signaling pathways in target tissues such as adipocytes and myocytes. Zinc inhibits protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) activity, enhancing insulin receptor signaling through IRS and PI3 K pathways. This supports Akt/PKB activation, promoting downstream effects such as increased glucose uptake via GLUT4 translocation, enhanced glycogen synthesis (via inhibition of GSK3), reduced gluconeogenesis (via FOXO1 suppression), and increased protein synthesis (via S6 K activation). Created in https://BioRender.com