SLC39A8 and bacterial infectious disease: As mentioned above, recent human GWAS studies have revealed that a frequently occurring ZIP8 variant allele that leads to defective intracellular metal transport (rs13107325; Ala391Thr risk allele), is strongly associated with inflammation-based disorders (Pickrell et al., 2016; Costas, 2018) and bacterial infection (Ye et al., 2014).