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Distribution of zinc metallothionein I mRNA in rat brain using in situ hybridization

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Abstract

Metallothionein (MT) isoforms I and II were first identified and characterized in our laboratories in several regions of brain, in hippocampal neurons in primary culture, and in retinoblastoma and neuroblastoma cell lines. In this study, by having employed the MT-I cDNA as a probe, we sought to gain additional insight about the function of MT by discerning the regional distribution of its mRNA. Northern blot analyses of brain mRNA revealed that the administration of zinc enhanced dramatically MT-I mRNA (570 bp). The in situ hybridization study revealed that MT-I mRNA was located in several areas of brain, with the highest concentrations found in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and ventricles. The results of these studies are interpreted to suggest that zinc enhances the synthesis of MT mRNA and MT in turn may participate in zinc associated functions in neurons.

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Abbreviations

MT-I:

Metallothionein I isoform

mRNA:

Messenger ribonucleic acid

35S dCTP:

35S Deoxycytidine triphosphate

32P dCTP:

32P Deoxycytidine triphosphate

icv:

Intracerebroventricularly

IP:

Intraperitoneally

PBS:

Paraformaldehyde phosphate buffered saline solution

Tris:

2 amino-2-hydroxymethylpropane-1,3 diol

EDTA:

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

cDNA:

Complimentary deoxyribonucleic acid

bp:

Base pair

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Neurology, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, 600 South 42nd Street, 68198-6260, Omaha, Nebraska

    R. Hao, R. F. Pfeiffer & M. Ebadi

  2. Department of Pharmacology, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, 600 South 42nd Street, 68198-6260, Omaha, Nebraska

    R. Hao, D. R. Cerutis, H. S. Blaxall, R. F. Pfeiffer & M. Ebadi

  3. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, 600 South 42nd Street, 68198-6260, Omaha, Nebraska

    J. F. Rodriguez-Sierra

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  1. R. Hao
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  2. D. R. Cerutis
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  3. H. S. Blaxall
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  4. J. F. Rodriguez-Sierra
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  5. R. F. Pfeiffer
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  6. M. Ebadi
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Hao, R., Cerutis, D.R., Blaxall, H.S. et al. Distribution of zinc metallothionein I mRNA in rat brain using in situ hybridization. Neurochem Res 19, 761–767 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00967717

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