Main description:

The Proceedings of the Fourth International Metallothionein Meeting (MT-97) feature the latest research on metallothionein. The book covers a broad range of topics which provide important information for both basic and clinical investigators. The selected 94 articles in this book are written by the leading scientists in the field around the world. This is an increasingly important, multi-disciplinary area of study that has benefitted from recent advances in concepts and methodologies from other fields.

Contents:

Metallothionein nomenclature and structure.- Nomenclature of metallothionein: Proposal for a revision.- Metallothionein: Molecular evolution and classification.- Structural and biological studies on native bovine Cu,Zn-metallothionein-3.- Circular dichroism, emission, and exafs studies of Ag(I), Cd(II), Cu(I), and Hg(II) binding to metallothioneins and modeling the metal binding site.- Metallothionein structure update.- Simulation of Zn/Cd binding in mammalian metallothionein domains.- The growth inhibitory activity of metallothionein-3 correlates with its novel ? domain sequence rather than metal binding properties.- Recombinant synthesis and metal-binding abilities of mouse metallothionein 1 and its ?- and ?-domains.- Biochemical characterization of monomeric and dimeric cadmium-substituted metallothionein-3.- Chemical and analytical aspects of metallothionein.- Mammalian metallothionein sub-isoform separation by RP-HPLC with on-line UV and electrochemical detection.- Characterisation of mammalian Cd, Zn metallothioneins using differential pulse polarography.- Comparison of CZE and MECC separations of MT isoforms.- Synthetic peptides and domains of metallothionein for structure function studies: rabbit liver peptide MT-IIA 49-61 and lobster MT ?N ?C and ?C?N domains.- Voltammetric methods in isolation and identification of plant metallothioneins from alga Chlorella.- Characterization of isometallothioneins in Chang liver cells and the transient accumulation of metallothionein and glutathione during cell proliferation.- Quantification of cytosolic metallothionein contents by a developed assay system using immobilized antibody.- Protein engineering of metallothionein to study on the metal-binding ability.- Metal binding proteins: Molecular engineering of improvements in metal specificity.- Molecular splicing of metallothionein - study on domains of metallothionein.- Metallothionein in non-mammalian tissues.- Involvement of metallothionein in female squirrelfish reproduction.- Accumulation of untranslated metallothionein mRNA in antarctic hemoglobinless fish (icefish).- Structure and function of metallothionein isoforms in terrestrial snails.- Functional and regulatory aspects of teleost metallothionein.- Metallothionein induction in mussels exposed to a metal mixture.- Synthesis and properties of class III metallothioneins of Schizosaccharomyces pombe in response to cadmium and zinc.- Phytochelatins (class III metallothioneins) and their desglycyl peptides induced by cadmium in root cultures of Rubia tinctorum L..- Chemical and spectroscopic properties of copper metallothionein from the copper resistant fungus Beauveria bassiana.- Transcription factors.- Metallothionein facts and frustrations.- Liver degeneration and embryonic lethality in mouse null mutants for the metal-responsive transcriptional activator MTF-1.- New insights into the mechanisms of cadmium regulation of mouse metallothionein-I gene expression.- Activation of mouse metallothionein I promoter by cadmium in human neuroblastoma cells.- Transcription factors involved in heavy metal regulation of the human metallothionein-IIA gene.- Transcriptional regulation of the gene encoding mouse metallothionein-3 and its expression in the organs of the reproductive system.- Dynamic regulation of yeast metallothionein gene transcription via metalloregulatory signaling factors.- Metal regulation of mammalian metal responsive element (MRE) binding proteins.- Metallothionein and hormone responsiveness.- Synergistic activation of mouse metallothionein-I gene by interleukin-6 and glucocorticoid.- Hammerhead ribozymes mediated down-regulation of rat metallothionein mrnas expression.- Inactivation of metal-induced metallothionein gene expression by protein kinase C inhibitor.- Cadmium-induced metallothionein expression and metallothionein mRNA in mice.- Role of metallothionein in reproduction, development and cell proliferation.- The nuclear-cytoplasmic presence of metallothionein in cells during differentiation and development.- Metallothionein and male genital organs.- Induction of metallothionein-like cadmium binding protein in testis and its protective role against cadmium toxicity.- Zinc homeostasis during pregnancy in metallothionein-null mice on a low zinc diet.- Restriction of cadmium transfer to egg from laying hen exposed to cadmium: Involvement of metallothionein in the ovaries.- Metallothionein expression during wool follicle development in foetal sheep.- A role of hepatic metallothionein on mercury distribution in fetal guinea pigs after in utero exposure to mercury vapor.- Cell differentiation alters metallothionein expression in avian growth plate chondrocytes.- Metallothionein in brain disease.- Metallothionein in oxidate stress of Parkinson's disease.- Metallothionein-1,2 and heme oxygenase-1 are expressed in damaged brain regions following chemically-induced seizures.- Molecular cloning and expression of the metallothionein (MT)-I and MT-III in brain lesions of dogs.- Liver and brain metallothionein regulation in transgenic mice overexpressing interleukin-6 and in mice carrying a null mutation in the interleukin-6 gene.- Effects of capsaicin on metallothionein (MT) mRNA in sensory neurons: Possible role of MT-III in nociception.- Metallothionein expression in the mammalian brain.- Induction of metallothionein-I (MT-I) mRNA in primary astrocyte cultures is mediated by hypotonicity.- Metallothionein in the cerebral cortex of rats showing hereditary high ability in sidman avoidance test.- Role of metallothionein in copper metabolism, diabetes and autoimmune disease.- Roles of metallothionein in the cytotoxicity of copper in the liver of LEC rats.- Fate of copper and metallothionein in the liver of LEC rats.- Relationship between Cu metabolism hereditary disorders and distribution of Cumetallothionein in kidneys.- Zincsulphate protects from streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus in mice: A function of metallothionein?.- MT does not protect endocrine cell damage induced by alloxan in pancreas of mice.- Plasma MT levels in diabetic and renal failure patients.- Metallothionein-mediated alterations in autoimmune disease processes.- Dietary zinc, photoimmunosuppression and metallothionein (MT).- Role of metallothionein in Cd-induced nephrotoxicity and bone loss.- Metallothionein-null mice are susceptible to chronic CdCl2-induced nephropathy: Cd-induced renal injury is not necessarily mediated by CdMT.- Cellular metallothionein: Properties of apometallothionein and the comparative toxicity of Cd2+ and Cd-metallothionein.- Zinc-induced protection against cadmium-metallothionein nephrotoxicity depends on glutathione status.- Mechanism of improved cadmium-induced renal dysfunction after cessation of cadmium exposure.- The role of metallothionein in cadmium-induced bone resoption.- Metallothionein induction in human proximal tubular cell cultures - lack of protection against heavy metal toxicity.- Relationship of metallothionein to cadmium and to zinc in human liver and kidney.- Apoptosis of human kidney 293 cells is promoted by polymerized Cd-metallothionein.- Role of metallothionein in oxidative stress.- Subcellular localization mediated functioning of metallothionein: Protection against oxygen radicals and anticancer agents.- Obesity and hyperleptinemia in a colony of metallothionein (-I and -II) null mice.- Cardiac protection by metallothionein against ischemia-reperfusion injury and its possible relation to ischemic preconditioning.- Metallothionein and its importance relative to glutathione in cardiac protection against doxorubicin toxicity.- Metallothionein metal composition is a determinant of its induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition.- Protective effect of metallothionein on DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide and ferric ion-nitrilotriacetic acid.- Effect of metallothionein on cardiac reperfusion injury in rats.- Susceptibility to metals and radical-inducing chemicals of metallothionein-null mice.- Metallothionein-I/II knockout mice are sensitive to acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity.- Effect of oxidative stress and bioavailable zinc on metallothionein in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE).- Specific binding sites of metallothionein on endothelium of small vessels in myocardium.- Metallothionein and carcinogenesis.- Further studies on the role of metallothionein in the antitumor effects of cadmium.- Effects of metallothionein expression on development of drug resistance.- A chemical mechanism for inactivation of anticancer drugs by metallothionein.- The possible role of metallothionein in cancer therapy by copper acetate.- Interaction of metallothionein with the carcinogenic metals Ni(II), Cr(VI) and As(III).- A novel metallothionein gene therapy approach for chemo- and radio-protection.- Metallothionein immunostaining as a prognostic indicator in canine mammary tumours.- Metallothionein isoform gene expression in four human bladder cancer cell lines.- The suppression of metallothionein synthesis inhibits the growth of leukemia P388 cells.- Metallothioneins as biomarkers.- Identification and characterisation of metallothioneins from environmental indicator species as potential Biomonitors.- Assessment of metal exposure of marine edible mussels by means of a biomarker.- Metallothionein level estimation in the bioassay method for water quality assessment in freshwater reservoirs polluted by waste waters.