Metallothionein

Agent Name
Metallothionein
CAS Number
9038-94-2
Formula
Unspecified
Major Category
Biological Agents
Synonyms
Metallothioneins; [ChemIDplus] Metallothionein, from equine kidney; Metallothionein I and II; [Sigma-Aldrich MSDS]
Category
Proteins
Description
Solid; [Sigma-Aldrich MSDS]
Sources/Uses
"A low-molecular-weight (approx. 10 kD) protein occurring in the cytoplasm of kidney cortex and liver. It is rich in cysteinyl residues and contains no aromatic amino acids. Metallothionein shows high affinity for bivalent heavy metals." [ChemIDplus] "Metallothionein (MT) is a family of cysteine-rich, low molecular weight (MW ranging from 500 to 14000 Da) proteins. They are localized to the membrane of the Golgi apparatus. MTs have the capacity to bind both physiological (such as zinc, copper, selenium) and xenobiotic (such as cadmium, mercury, silver, arsenic) heavy metals through the thiol group of its cysteine residues, which represents nearly the 30% of its amino acidic residues." [Wikipedia]
Comments
May cause irritation; Harmful by ingestion and skin absorption; Targets the lungs and kidney; Possible carcinogen; [Sigma-Aldrich MSDS]
Biomedical References

Diseases, Processes, and Activities Linked to This Agent

Other Information
No other related information on this agent was found.