Researchers revealed that abnormal delivery of zinc to lung cells contributes to obstructive pulmonary diseases. They further showed that mRNA splicing abnormalities are involved in the detailed mechanism. So far, the importance of zinc in the lung has only been understood from a nutritional aspect. This discovery is thought to be the first to clarify zinc’s effects on the regulation of mRNA ligation (splicing), and its involvement in the onset of pulmonary diseases.