To understand the regulation of metallothionein (MT) accretion in a chicken-macrophage cell line, fractional rates of MT synthesis (FRS) and degradation (FRD) were measured by following decay kinetics of [35S]cysteine in MT. To obtain valid measurements, we added various amounts of cysteine to medium to ensure that the isotope tracer was adequately diluted after MT was labeled in the presence of various levels of zinc. We also demonstrated that the measured fractional rate of MT accretion closely approximated the difference between FRS and FRD. All fractional rates were similar for the two MT isoforms isolated. FRD did not change during the 27-hr decay period, but FRS and fractional rate of MT accretion changed over time. FRS of MT was 0.097 and 0.012 hr-1 from 0 to 9 and 9 to 27 hr, respectively, after cells were incubated in medium supplemented with 50 microM zinc. FRD of MT was 0.020 hr-1. Addition of 1100 microM unlabeled cysteine to medium supplemented with 50 microM zinc increased FRD and decreased FRS and fractional rate of MT accretion, as compared with not adding cysteine. Overall, these results indicate that rates of MT synthesis and degradation can both regulate MT accretion. Further experiments with various amounts of zinc and cysteine added to medium suggested that the effect of added cysteine on MT fractional rates was due to chelation of unbound zinc. Elimination of the cysteine effect on MT fractional rates was accomplished by adding more zinc to cysteine-supplemented medium. Thus, the concentration of unbound zinc affects the rates of MT synthesis and degradation.