出版社：National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
摘要：Metallothionein (MT) is thought to play a central role in the detoxification of heavy metals, and thus studies on its regulation are toxicologically important. Heavy metal-dependent induction of MT genes is mediated by metal responsive elements (MREs) located upstream of the genes. Zinc regulatory factor (ZRF) is a zinc-dependent MRE-bind-ing protein that was originally detected in HeLa cell nuclear extracts using the most proximal MRE of the human MT-IIA gene (hMREa) as a probe. We show that ZRF in HeLa cell nuclear extracts can also bind to the most potent MRE of the mouse MT-I gene (mMREd). This finding was further confirmed by using partially purified ZRF. Moreover, cadmium could not promote complex formation between ZRF and mMREd at any concentra-tion tested, as is also the case with ZRF and hMREa. These observations suggest that the transcriptional regulatory system of MT genes by zinc is conserved beyond species.
关键词：Key words: Metallothionein gene;Zinc;Transcription factor;HeLa cells;DNA;binding protein
