PDCD4 and Zinc deficiency: It has been shown that zinc deficiency induced an elevation in the expression of oncogenic, pro-inflammatory miRNAs such as miR-21, miR-31, and miR-146a in tissues like the esophagus and tongue, which suppresses the expression of tumor suppressor genes, including PDCD4 and PPP2R2A, thereby showing that zinc is a key nutrient for miRNA networks regulating metabolic inflammation and tissue homeostasis.