• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제27권4호
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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.

• 한국어류학회지
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.61-69
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• 2011

멸종위기 어류 미호종개(Cobitis choii)로부터 중금속해독 단백질(metallothionein) 유전자를 분리, 클로닝하고 중금속 및 고온 스트레스에 대한 전사 발현 특정을 분석하였다. 미호종개 metallothionein는 gDNA, mRNA 및 아미노산 서열 모두에서 경골 어류 MT들의 구조적 특징을 잘 보전하고 있었으며, 생물정보분석을 통해 미호종개 MT 유전자 5'-upstream 영역은 중금속 조절, 면역 반응 및 온도 반응에 관여하는 다양한 전사 조절인자들의 부착 위치들을 포함하는 것으로 관찰되었다. 카드뮴(Cd), 구리(Cu), 니켈(Ni), 망간(Mn) 및 아연(Zn)을 이용한 침지 노출 실험(0.5 및 $1.0\;{\mu}M$; 24시간)에서 미호종개 MT mRNA 발현은 구리 및 카드뮴 처리군에서 가장 많이 유도되었고($1.0\;{\mu}M$ Cu 처리군에서 최대 10배), 망간 처리군에서는 비교적 적은 양의 MT 발현이 유도된 반면(2배), 아연 및 니켈 노출 군에서는 유의적인 MT 발현의 증감이 관찰되지 않았다. 또한 미호종개 MT 전사 발현은 고온 자극 ($25^{\circ}C$로부터 $31^{\circ}C$까지 증가)에도 민감하게 반응하는 것으로 나타나, $31^{\circ}C$ 도달시점에서 $25^{\circ}C$ 초기 MT mRNA 발현 수준보다 9배 높은 mRNA 발현이 관찰되었다. 본 연구 결과는 MT 기반의 유전자 발현 분석을 이용함으로써, 향후 멸종위기 어류 미호종개의 스트레스 반응 연구에 유용한 기초 자료를 제공할 수 있다고 기대된다.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• 제12권3_4호
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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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• 제5권3호
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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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• 제22권4호
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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.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제44권2호
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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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• 제18권1호
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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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• 제19권1호
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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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• 제11권1_2호
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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.

• 산업식품공학
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• 제13권4호
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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.