Metallothioneins (MTs) are short, cysteine-rich proteins for heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification; they bind a variety of heavy metals and also act as radical scavengers. Transcription of mammalian MT genes is activated by heavy metal load via the metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1), an essential zinc finger protein whose elimination in mice leads to embryonic lethality due to...

Concentrations of 27 commonly estimated serum constituents were measured in blood sampled from 20 apparently healthy volunteers at 0830, 1230, and 1630 hours on each of four days, at weekly intervals. Time-dependent statistically significant (p less than or equal to 0.01) variation was observed in 12 of the constituents. The 15 constituents that showed no statistically significant diurnal varia...

Zinc is an essential trace element that is required for the function of a large number of proteins. As these zinc-binding proteins are found within the cytosol and organelles, all eukaryotes require mechanisms to ensure that zinc is delivered to organelles, even under conditions of zinc deficiency. Although many zinc transporters belonging to the Cation Diffusion Facilitator (CDF) families have...

abstract- the syndrome of diabetes mellitus, sensorineural deafness and megaloblastic anemia dose not result from thiamine deficiency. the previous reported patients had no sign of beriberi, had normal nutrition, and had no evidence of malabsorption. the features of this syndrome with apparent inheritance of autosomal recessive trait may define this puzzling syndrome as a true thiamine dependen...

Metallothioneins are small, cysteine-rich proteins that avidly bind heavy metals such as zinc, copper, and cadmium to reduce their concentration to a physiological or nontoxic level. Metallothionein gene transcription is induced by several stimuli, notably heavy metal load and oxidative stress. Transcriptional induction of metallothionein genes is mediated by the metal-responsive transcription ...

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Zinc is an essential nutrient because it is a required cofactor for many enzymes and transcription factors. To discover genes and processes in yeast that are required for growth when zinc is limiting, we used genome-wide functional profiling. Mixed pools of ∼4,600 deletion mutants were inoculated into zinc-replete and zinc-limiting media. These cells were grown for several generations, and the ...

Zinc is a trace element with a multitude of roles in biological systems including structural and cofactor functions for proteins. Although most zinc in the central nervous system (CNS) is protein bound, the CNS contains a pool of mobile zinc housed in synaptic vesicles within a subset of neurons. Such mobile zinc occurs in many brain regions, such as the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and cortex, b...

Zinc is an essential micronutrient that can also be toxic. An intricate mechanism exists in yeast that maintains cellular zinc within an optimal range. The centerpiece of this mechanism is the Zap1p protein, a transcription factor that senses zinc deficiency and responds by up-regulating genes involved in zinc metabolism. A microarray screen for novel Zap1p target genes suggested a role in zinc...

The knowledge that zinc is essential for growth and neuropsychologic performance and a report of zinc-responsive stunting in Chinese children prompted this project. This article summarizes findings from a 10-wk, double-blind, controlled trial of zinc repletion in 740 urban, 6-9-y-old first graders from low-income families in Chongqing, Qingdao, and Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Treatmen...