Biomaterial Database

Relative gold-binding capacity of metallothionein: studies in renal cytosols of gold-injected rats. 1996

S Saito, and Y Kojima

Department of Environmental Medicine and Informatics, Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

To determine the gold-binding capacity of metallothionein (MT) in cytosols of gold-injected rats, we examined the relationship between gold contents in cytosols and in MT fraction in rat kidneys. Each rat was injected intraperitoneally once with 0.9% NaCl or gold (5, 10 or 20 mg gold/kg b.w.). The gold contents in kidneys and in MT fraction increased following the injected amount of gold. The distribution profiles of the renal cytosols of gold-injected rats on a Sephadex G-75 column showed that the amount of the increased gold was attributable to the high molecular weight proteins (HP) and the MT fractions. There were close relationships between the gold contents in cytosol and in MT fractions, and between the gold contents in cytosol and in HP fractions. These results demonstrate that 14% of the increased gold in the renal cytosols of gold-injected rats was bound to MT and that 79% of the increased gold was bound to HP. Our results suggest that the role of metallothionein in gold accumulation in kidneys is different from that in zinc accumulation in kidneys.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007668	Kidney	Body organ that filters blood for the secretion of URINE and that regulates ion concentrations.	Kidneys
D008297	Male		Males
D008668	Metallothionein	A low-molecular-weight (approx. 10 kD) protein occurring in the cytoplasm of kidney cortex and liver. It is rich in cysteinyl residues and contains no aromatic amino acids. Metallothionein shows high affinity for bivalent heavy metals.	Isometallothionein,Metallothionein A,Metallothionein B,Metallothionein I,Metallothionein II,Metallothionein IIA
D003600	Cytosol	Intracellular fluid from the cytoplasm after removal of ORGANELLES and other insoluble cytoplasmic components.	Cytosols
D004305	Dose-Response Relationship, Drug	The relationship between the dose of an administered drug and the response of the organism to the drug.	Dose Response Relationship, Drug,Dose-Response Relationships, Drug,Drug Dose-Response Relationship,Drug Dose-Response Relationships,Relationship, Drug Dose-Response,Relationships, Drug Dose-Response
D006046	Gold	A yellow metallic element with the atomic symbol Au, atomic number 79, and atomic weight 197. It is used in jewelry, goldplating of other metals, as currency, and in dental restoration. Many of its clinical applications, such as ANTIRHEUMATIC AGENTS, are in the form of its salts.
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001667	Binding, Competitive	The interaction of two or more substrates or ligands with the same binding site. The displacement of one by the other is used in quantitative and selective affinity measurements.	Competitive Binding
D017207	Rats, Sprague-Dawley	A strain of albino rat used widely for experimental purposes because of its calmness and ease of handling. It was developed by the Sprague-Dawley Animal Company.	Holtzman Rat,Rats, Holtzman,Sprague-Dawley Rat,Rats, Sprague Dawley,Holtzman Rats,Rat, Holtzman,Rat, Sprague-Dawley,Sprague Dawley Rat,Sprague Dawley Rats,Sprague-Dawley Rats
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus