metallothionein and 4-nitrophenol

Metallothioneins (MTs) are low molecular weight, zinc-binding proteins that by activating zinc metalloenzymes participate in the regulation of growth and development. The present study was designed to examine the roles of MTs in cell proliferation using an in vivo model of liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats. The levels of MT-I and MT-II were studied with respect to regulation of proliferative potential, cell cycle checkpoint activity, and oxidative stress in the rat PH model. We synthesized a 17-mer antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide (S-ODN), named aMT, complimentary to the start site of the MT-I mRNA sequence and an appropriate control. Both S-ODNs were administered intraperitoneally at the dose of 5 mg/kg following 70% PH. MT became induced 57.4 +/- 9.8-fold following PH and the said effect became attenuated dramatically following administration of aMT. In addition, PH rats treated with aMT exhibited decreased rate of liver regeneration as measured by expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and elevated cell cycle checkpoint activity as determined by expression of p53. The results of these studies suggest that MT isoforms with their high thiol contents do play an important role in cellular functions and especially during stressful states induced by a broad range of mediators generating free radicals.

Topics: Animals; Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases; Cell Division; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2B1; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; Gene Expression; Liver Regeneration; Male; Metallothionein; Nitrophenols; Oligonucleotides, Antisense; Oxidative Stress; Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; Zinc Sulfate

An improved ELISA combined with linear sweep voltammetry detection of p-nitrophenol generated by an enzyme has been investigated in this study. p-nitrophenol, produced from alkaline phosphatase catalysing p-nitrophenyl phosphate, yielded an oxidative peak at 1.06 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) with a wax-impregnated tubular graphite anode. Without separation, the small three-electrode system was directly inserted in the well of an ELISA plate for detection. The detection limit for p-nitrophenol was 1 x 10(-6) M, lower than that obtained by measuring the absorbance of p-nitrophenol. The feasibility of utilizing linear sweep voltammetry as a detection scheme was demonstrated by determining metallothionein, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor and Xenopus laevis keratin using the above new system. The method was simple, reproducible and much more sensitive than traditional spectrophotometry.

Topics: Animals; Electrochemistry; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor; Keratins; Liver; Metallothionein; Mice; Nitrophenols; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity

This paper suggests a simple modification of the Ellman procedure when used to measure accurate changes in sulfhydryl (-SH) content induced by reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). This modification became necessary when we found that the standard technique did not produce time invariant results in the presence of ROI-generating systems. Cysteine (cys; 20-100 microM) in 20 mM imidazole buffer (pH 7.0) containing 1.0 mM EDTA was reacted with excess (0.2 mM) 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), DTNB. The absorbance of the product (p-nitrothiophenol anion) was recorded at 412 nm (A412). This A412 was stable for 60 min and gave a linear relationship with cys concentrations used. ROI were generated either by 0.01 U xanthine oxidase (XO) + 0.01-1.0 mM hypoxanthine (HX), 0.01-1.0 mM H2O2, or H2O2 + 100 microM FeSO4. In the presence of ROI, A412 decreased with time and its rate of decrease was dependent upon the concentration of components of the ROI-generating system. This time-dependent decrease in A412 was prevented completely by the addition of 100 U of catalase (CAT). Therefore, we modified the DTNB method as follows: -SH groups were reacted with ROI for 30 min; this was followed by the addition of 100 U of CAT to scavenge the excess unreacted ROI before the addition of DTNB to generate the product. Using this modification the ROI-induced decrease in A412 was stable with time and was linearly related to the cys concentration. We further tested the modified procedure using metallothionein (MT) as a substrate for the ROI-induced changes in -SH content. MT, at concentrations of 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 microM, was treated with XO + 100 microM HX.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Catalase; Cysteine; Dithionitrobenzoic Acid; Free Radicals; Hydrogen Peroxide; Hypoxanthine; Hypoxanthines; Metallothionein; Nitrophenols; Oxygen; Sulfhydryl Compounds; Xanthine Oxidase