Intestinal inflammation marker calprotectin regulates epithelial intestinal zinc metabolism and proliferation in mouse jejunal organoids

Calprotectin (CP), a heterodimer of S100A8 and S100A9, is expressed by neutrophils and a number of innate immune cells and is used widely as a marker of inflammation, particularly intestinal inflammation. CP is a ligand for toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). In addition, CP can act as a microbial modulatory agent via a mechanism termed nutritional immunity, depending on metal binding, most notably Zn