Estévez et al. (1) focused on a potential mechanism through which dominantly inherited mutation in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), an abundant, ubiquitously expressed antioxidant protein, triggers the selective death of motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Each subunit of SOD1 binds one zinc and one copper atom. Dismutation of the superoxide radical to H2O2 or O2 requires enzyme...

The wide-scale applications of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) in photocatalysts, gas sensors, and cosmetics may cause toxicity to humans and environments. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to reduce the toxicity of ZnO NPs by coating them with a silica (SiO2) layer, which could be used in human applications, such as cosmetic preparations. The sol-gel method was used to synthesiz...

Acute semistatic toxicity tests were carried out for 96h with first zoeae and young crabs of Chasmagnathus granulata. Survival curves and LC50 (lethal concentration 50, the concentration which produces the death of 50% of the exposed population) indices for copper, zinc, cadmium, and lead were determined. Furthermore, mixture toxicity tests (Cd/Cu and Cd/Zn) with first-stage larvae were also ca...

The micronutrient zinc has an essential role in physiological and metabolic processes in plants as a cofactor or structural element in 300 catalytic and noncatalytic proteins, but it is very toxic when available in elevated amounts. Plants tightly regulate their internal zinc concentrations in a process called zinc homeostasis. The exceptional zinc hyperaccumulator species Thlaspi caerulescens ...

Ponggol estuary, located on the northeastern coast of Singapore, is heavily impacted by reclamation, dredging, construction and shipping. Tin, lead, nickel, cadmium, copper and zinc in the particulate and dissolved fraction and in sediments were monitored biweekly in the estuary from July 1999 to June 2000. The concentrations of tin, lead, nickel, cadmium, copper and zinc were observed to range...

OBJECTIVE Toxic metal ions have been implicated in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO). Metallothionines (MT) and plant flavonoids have been reported in the intervention against oxidative damage. We investigated the effect of zinc induced MT and green tea polyphenol (GTP) in reducing the oxidative responses induced by nickel and platinum. METHODS Zinc (10 mg/...

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) facilitate tailor-made genomic modifications in vivo through the creation of targeted double-stranded breaks. They have been employed to modify the genomes of plants and animals, and cell-based therapies utilizing ZFNs are undergoing clinical trials. However, many ZFNs display dose-dependent toxicity presumably due to the generation of undesired double-stranded brea...

Escherichia coli ZinT is a metal binding protein involved in zinc homeostasis, with additional putative functions in the resistance against other metals. Herein, a method was designed and implemented to evaluate from a structural and functional viewpoint metal binding to E. coli ZinT in 96-well microtiter plates. The isolated ZinT was mixed with several metal ions and their binding ability was ...