AIM The main objectives of this study were for comparing the effect of batteries and deep litter rearing systems of domesticated Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica, on the concentration levels of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc from the quail meat and offal in Ismailia, Egypt. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 40 quail meat and their offal samples were randomly collected from two main ...

Recent studies suggest that the developmental toxicity associated with childhood lead poisoning may be attributable to interactions of Pb(II) with proteins containing thiol-rich structural zinc-binding sites. Here, we report detailed structural studies of Pb(II) in such sites, providing critical insights into the mechanism by which lead alters the activity of these proteins. X-ray absorption sp...

The binding of four inhibitors--mercuric ion, 3-acetoxymercuri-4-aminobenzenesulfonamide (AMS), acetazolamide (Diamox), and thiocyanate ion--to human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II) has been studied with X-ray crystallography. The binding of mercury to HCA II at pH 7.0 has been investigated at 3.1 A resolution. Mercuric ions are observed at both nitrogens in the His-64 ring. One of these sites i...

ICP-MS analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae reveals a high cell-associated Mn(II) concentration that is comparable to that of Zn(II). Stressing these cells with 100–200 μM Zn(II) leads to a slow-growth phenotype and a total Mn(II) concentration that is reduced, with no decrease of other metal ions. Supplementation of the growth media with as little as 10 μM Mn(II) fully restores the growth defe...

Zinc, a metal ion that functions in a wide variety of catalytic and structural sites in metalloproteins, is shown here to adopt a novel coordination environment in the Escherichia coli transport protein ZntA. The ZntA protein is a P-type ATPase that pumps zinc out of the cytoplasm and into the periplasm. It is physiologically selective for Zn(II) and functions with metalloregulatory proteins in...

Addressing malnutrition is among the many challenges in the effective control of tuberculosis. The nutritional status of micronutrients is poorly standardized. Zinc being one of the most vital micronutrients, it is taken up for study. This study is to analyze the status of Zinc in the serum of pulmonary tuberculosis patients. The levels of serum Zinc is measured and documented in freshly diagno...

Phenolic antioxidants, such as tBHQ [2,5-di-(t-butyl)-1,4-hydroquinone], induce Mt1 (metallothionein 1) gene expression and accumulation of MT protein. Induction of Mt1 mRNA does not depend on protein synthesis, and correlates with oxidation-reduction functions of the antioxidants. In the present study, we analysed the biochemical pathway of the induction. Induction depends on the presence of M...

Zinc finger proteins acquire DNA-binding ability by Zn (II) complexation. In the zinc finger domain of the Cys2His2 type, each finger is approximately 30 amino acid residues long and consists of a simple ββα–fold stabilized by chelation of a zinc ion with the conserved Cys2His2 residues. A zinc finger motif of Cys2His2 offers an attractive framework for the design of a novel DNA-binding protein...

A study has been made of the influence of two pools of caseinophosphopeptides (CPPs) obtained from α(s)- and β-casein (CN) fractions, and of three specific CPPs (β-CN(1-25)4P, α(s1)-CN(64-74)4P and α(s2)-CN(1-19)4P), on iron bioavailability (ferritin synthesis) and zinc bioavailability (retention, transport and uptake of zinc) in Caco-2 cells. α-CPP and β-CPP pools did not improve ferritin synt...