Zinc and its compounds with insulin-like effects have been found to own such properties as strong bio-compatibility,good stability and remarkable hypoglycemic effect. Since the discovery of their insulin-like function,zinc compounds and their anti-diabetic effects have been a geobal focus of research. Zinc ion is involved in physiological and biochemical processes in vivo,such as in carbohy-drate and lipid metabolism. The mechanism of zinc and zinc complexes in anti-diabetic activity are sum-marized in this article,including direct participation in insulin synthesis,antioxidation,involvement in the regulation of tyrosine protein phosphatase,and improving immunity. Zinc complexes with Zn(N2 O2 )have remarkable insulin-like effects. Particularly,the L-theanine-zinc compound,which is a class of zinc com-plexes with natural ligands,has also been found to show significant hypoglycemic effect in an in vivo experiment on KK-Ay mice,have stable chemical properties,be absorbed fast in vivoand be non-toxic with oral administration during model animal experiments. This paper reviews the progress in research on relationships between zinc and its complexes and the anti-diabetic effect.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the frequencies of three polymorphisms in DJ-1 (g.168-185del; SNP405, refSNP ID:rs3766606 and 293 G/A) and their association with sporadic Parkinson's disease.

METHODSAn association study was performed to determine the genotype of each subject using polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis in 192 patients with sporadic Parkinson's disease and 198 healthy controls.

RESULTSIn the g.168-185del locus, the Ins/Ins genotype was common and the frequency of Del allele was very low (0.38%). The SNP of 293G/A was not detected in both groups. In the SNP405 G/T site, the GT genotype frequency was significantly higher in patients with age of onset before 40 years than in controls (18.75% vs 5.54%, P=0.004, OR=6.30 95%CI:1.96-20.18).

CONCLUSIONThe results suggest that the frequencies of the g.168-185del and 293G/A polymorphisms might be different between Chinese and European. The SNP405 GT genotype might be a risk factor for sporadic Parkinson's disease with early age of onset in Sichuan Han population.

Adult ; Age of Onset ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; Parkinson Disease ; genetics ; pathology ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Protein Deglycase DJ-1