• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.115-122
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the metallothionein of acute cadmium poisoning mice as a Cadmium index. Forty male ICR mice were injected with cadmium chloride solution from 1/8LD50 to 1/2LD50 dose. At 24 hours after exposed Cd, I examined Cd and metallothionein (MT) intissues(liver and kidney) and fluids(whole blood and urine) and also measured low molecular proteins, N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase(NAG) and 2- microglobuline (2-MG) in urine. The concentration of Cd and MT of liver kidney whole blood and urine were increased with dose dependent manner. Urinary Cd and urinary MT and very good significance (p<0.01) and urinary MT had good significance with kidney Cd and NAG but not 2-MG Conclusionally MT in urine was very correlated with kidney Cd and urine Cd, So MT maybe useful as a Cd poisoning index.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2011

Gene and promoter structures of metallothionein(MT) from Miho spine loach (Cobitis choii; Cypriniformes) were characterized, and the transcriptional responses to experimental exposures to heavy metals and heat stress were examined. The C. choii metallothionein displayed well-conserved features of teleostean metallothioneins at gDNA, mRNA and amino acid levels. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that the C. choii MT regulatory region potentially possessed various motifs or elements targeted by various transcription factors associated with metal-coordinating regulation (e.g., metal transcription factor-1), immune responses (e.g., nuclear factor kappa B), and thermal modulations (e.g., heat shock factor). Acute heavy-metal exposures to 0.5 or $1.0\;{\mu}M$ of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) or zinc (Zn) showed that MT transcription was significantly stimulated by Cd (9.6-fold relative to non-exposed control) and Cu (10.4-fold), only moderately by Mn (2.4-fold), but hardly by Ni and Zn. Elevation of water temperature from $25^{\circ}C$ to $31^{\circ}C$ caused a rapid modulation of MT mRNAs toward upregulation to 9.5-fold; however, afterward the elevated mRNA level slightly decreased during further incubation at $31^{\circ}C$ for 6 h. Results from this study suggest that MT-based expression assay could be a useful basis for better understanding the metal- and/or heat-caused stresses in this endangered fish species.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.15-22
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• 1997

This experiment was performed to examine the immuno-reactive characteristics of fish metal-binding protein, metallothionein (MT), and gain the practical understandings for the proposed use of fish MT as a biomarker. Liver MT induced by Cd in the silver carp was seperated and purified by gel filtration chromatography and ion exchange chromatography. The immuno-reactivity of fish MT was examined with 3 rabbit antisera. Fish MT showed little reactivity with rabbit anti-rat MT antiserum and a weak reactivity with anti-MT peptide antiserum while showed a strong reactivity with rabbit anti-fish MT antiserum. The time-course change of liver MT in the silver carp, after waterborne exposure to 1 ppm of Cd, was checked by Cd-hem method and established competitive ELISA. In both cases, the induction of liver MT showed a good increasing relationship with the exposure days. The results indicate that the fish MT can be developed as a useful biomonitoring means in the toxicological study and for the evaluation of water pollution.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.263-266
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• 2001

Metallothionein (MT) is induced in the regenerating rat liver. We have investigated expression of MT gene by RT PCR as well as specific localization of MT by immunocytochemistry in regenerating rat liver after partial hepatectomy (PH). MT mRNA level started to increase from 1 h and reached the peak at 8 h after PH. The level decreased gradually by 24 h, and became similar to that of control group. In the immunocytochemical study, in all groups treated with primary antibody, immunogold particles indicating the presence of MT were evenly distributed throughout both cytoplasm and nucleus of the rat hepatocytes. Within the nucleus, the gold particles appeared to be intensely localized in the areas of euchromatin and nucleolus. Within the cytoplasm, gold particles did not seem to adhere to mitochondria or Iysosomes, but were freely distributed. However, rough endoplasmic reticulum was the obvious compartment on which the gold particles were localized. Time course of MT immunoreactivity revealed that distribution of gold particles in hepatocytes increased gradually by 24 h, and decreased at 48 h after PH. Briefly, PH resulted in the sharpest increase in the expression of MT mRNA at 8 h and in the immunoreactivity of MT at 24 h, respectively. It is suggested that the increase of MT mRNA expression, the intensity of immunoreactivity and the specific localization of MT may be associated with the compensatory cell proliferation followed by PH.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.362-366
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• 2001

To show the effects of metallothionein (MT) on the activity of enzymes involved in the removal of reactive oxygen species, MT has been added to the assay systems of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and peroxidase. We have used assay systems of SOD based on NADPH oxidation and nitrite formation from hydroxylammonium chloride as an assay of superoxide breakdown rate. The two assay systems showed different results at the high concentration of MT. MT showed the scavenging of superoxide in the SOD assay system in the presence and absence of SOD. MT added to the SOD assay system behaved as an activator of SOD, but apo-MT behaved as an inhibitor. When MT was added to the assay system in the presence of a fixed amount of SOD, the breakdown rate of superoxide increased. The effects of MT on the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and the activity of catalase and peroxidase decomposing hydrogen peroxide were evaluated. MT decreased the activities of catalase and peroxidase. We have concluded that the function of MT as an antioxidant might effect the level of superoxide scavenging and not the level of hydrogen peroxide.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.126-140
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• 2011

Genetic determinants of two metallothionein isoforms (MT-A and MT-B) were isolated and characterized from the perciform species, rockbream (Oplegnathus fasciatus). Rockbream MT-A and MT-B shared a high degree of homology at amino acid levels with representative orthologs from other perciform species, especially with respect to the conserved cysteine residues. At the genomic level, both MT-A and MT-B genes represent a tripartite structure typical of vertebrate MT genes. However, rockbream MT-B showed unusually large introns (1.2 kb and 0.8 kb for intron I and II, respectively), a phenomenon that has rarely been seen in other vertebrate MT genes. MT-A and MT-B transcripts were ubiquitously detected in a wide array of tissues, wherein brain and eye showed the highest basal expression levels, and the fin exhibited the lowest expression of both isoforms. The basal expression of MT-A in most tissues was significantly higher (ranging from 4- to 10-fold) than that of MT-B. Upon heavy metal exposures to Cd, Cu or Zn at 25 ppb for 48 h, MT-A and MT-B transcripts in the liver were significantly activated by Cd and moderately by Zn. On the other hand, exposure to Cu did not result in alterations of MT-A, nor in the significant suppression of MT-B. Following bacterial challenges with Escherichia coli, Edwardsiella tarda or Streptococcus iniae, MT isoforms in the liver, kidney and spleen were highly modulated and exhibited a pattern that was dependent on the bacterial species, tissues and isoforms. These results suggest that the two MT isoforms could be taken into account as potential indicators of metal toxicity and immune perturbations of this aquaculture-relevant species.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2003

Metallothionein gene expression activity of cadmium was investigated in a human lung epithelial cell line. Cells, grown to near confluence, were exposed to 0∼10 ${\mu}$M Cd metal for 6 hours. Cadmium did not cause morphological alteration in lung epithelial cells that are characteristic of cell damages such as cell shrinkage, detachment of the cell from its neighbors, cytoplasmic and chromatic condensation. However, metallothionein genes of MT-1 and MT-2 were rapidly induced in the treated cell measured by RT-PCR. Regarding the induction pattern of motallothionein mRNA, MT-1 mRNA was induced in a dependent manner. MT-2 mRNA induction, which was measured using oligo primers based on cDNA of human reticulocytes, seemed to be slightly increased in low doses but decreased at high concentration used in the experiment.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2004

Metallothionein gene expression of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) was investigated in human lung epithelial cell line. DEP was collected from diesel motor bus and soluble fraction in water was obtained. Cells, grown to near confluence, were exposed to 5-50 ppm DEP for 6 hours. Regarding the metallothionein gene expressions, MT-1 and MT-2 were induced in the DEP-treated cell by using RT-PCR and real-time PCR. However, MT-3 which is known to be brain specific, and another isoform MT-4 were not expressed in cadmium-treated groups as well as control group. Heavy metal of DEP was also analyzed and Zn was found as the major component of heavy metals in DEP used in this study.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.11 no.1_2
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• pp.11-17
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• 1996

The purpose of this experiment is to estabilish the sensitive and specific ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) system for the detection of fish metallothionein (MT). Silver carp were injected with CA of 1-8mg/kg body wt. 4 times during 10 days. Silver carp was very tolerant species to CA. Cd induced MT in liver was seperated and purified by gel filtration chromatography and ion exchange chromatography and identified by spectrophotometry, native gel electrophoresis and western blot analysis. The rabbit antiserum was produced by immunizing rabbit with lyophilized MT, and the competitive ELISA system was estabilished for the detection of fish MT. In the present ELISA system, the detection limit was about 33 ng/ml. When this ELISA system was employed to determine the MT level in the supernatant sample of fish liver homogenate, the reaction curve showed a good parallel corelationship with the calibration curve over a certain dilution range. The results indicate that the competitive ELISA can be a useful tool for the detection of fish MT in the toxicological study and the evaluation of water pollution.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.314-319
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• 2009

Metallothioneins (MTs) are low molecular weight, cysteine-rich, and heavy metal binding proteins, which could be induced with heavy metals such as Cd, Hg, Zn and Cu in liver, kidney, and in cultured cells. By using ion exchange chromatography on DE-52, MT was purified from the serum of carp induced with cadmium in order to produce antibody against MT. Polyclonal antibody produced against purified carp MT reacted well with MT in the serum of carp induced with cadmium, whereas control serum did not. This may indicate that the polyclonal antibody against the carp MT could be used for the preparation of biosensors to detect MT in fishes like carp.