脑特异性金属硫蛋白—Ⅲ研究进展

金属硫蛋白－Ⅲ（ＭＴ－Ⅲ）是富含半胱氨酸的低分子量蛋白,主要在脑内含Ｚｎ＾２＋神经元表达,与脑的发育过程有关。ＭＴ－Ⅲ可抑制体外培养的神经细胞生长和存活。ＭＴ－Ⅲ与Ｚｎ＾２＋的结合有相对特异性,可能影响依赖于Ｚｎ＾２＋的一系列生物活动。ＡＤ患者脑内ＭＴ－Ⅲ表达减少,敲除ＭＴ－Ⅲ基因的小鼠对红藻氨酸诱发癫痫更敏感,提示ＭＴ－Ⅲ可能在某些脑变性疾病中发挥作用。

Research progress in brain-specific metallothionein-III

Metallothionein-III (MT-III) is a low molecular weight protein characterized by its abundant content of cysteins. It is predominantly expressed in the zinc-containing neurons and associated with the development of brain. MT-III inhibits the survival and neurite formation of the cultured neurons in vitro. It has comparatively specific affinity for zinc, thus may regulate the zinc-dependent biological processes. Studies demonstrating that MT-III is down-regulated in Alzheimer's disease and that MT-III "knockout" mice appear highly sensitive to kainate-induced seizures suggest that it may play important roles in some degenerative diseases of the brain.