MT-III, a brain-specific member of the metallothionein gene family.

作者：Richard D. Palmiter, Seth D. Findley, Theodore E. Whitmore, Diane M. Durnam · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：1992 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.89.14.6333 · 被引用次数：566 · 研究领域：Trace Elements in Health、Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity、Chromium effects and bioremediation

A third member of the metallothionein (MT) gene family, designated MT-III, was cloned by virtue of its homology to a human protein that was shown previously to inhibit neuronal survival in culture and to be deficient in the brains of people with Alzheimer disease. Human and mouse MT-IIIs have two insertions relative to all other known mammalian MTs: a threonine after the fourth amino acid and a block of six amino acids near the carboxyl terminus. The genes encoding MT-III resemble all other mammalian MT genes in their small size and exon/intron organization. The MT-III genes are closely linked to the other functional MT genes on human chromosome 16 and mouse chromosome 8. Mouse MT-III gene expression appears to be restricted to brain; in addition, it fails to respond to zinc, cadmium, dexamethasone, or bacterial endotoxin in vivo, thereby distinguishing MT-III from other known MTs.