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Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula

Metallothioneins (MTs) are an evolutionary conserved multigene family of proteins whose role was initially identified in binding essential metals. The physiological role of MT, however, has been revealed to be more complex than expected, since not only are MTs able to bind to toxic heavy metals, but...

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Autores principales: Scudiero, Rosaria, Verderame, Mariailaria, Motta, Chiara Maria, Simoniello, Palma
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536057/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28753953
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18071569
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author Scudiero, Rosaria
Verderame, Mariailaria
Motta, Chiara Maria
Simoniello, Palma
author_facet Scudiero, Rosaria
Verderame, Mariailaria
Motta, Chiara Maria
Simoniello, Palma
author_sort Scudiero, Rosaria
collection PubMed
description Metallothioneins (MTs) are an evolutionary conserved multigene family of proteins whose role was initially identified in binding essential metals. The physiological role of MT, however, has been revealed to be more complex than expected, since not only are MTs able to bind to toxic heavy metals, but many isoforms have shown specialized and alternative functions. Within this uncertainty, the information available on MTs in non-mammalian vertebrates, particularly in neglected tetrapods such as the reptiles, is even more scant. In this review, we provide a summary of the current understanding on metallothionein presence and function in the oviparous lizard Podarcis sicula, highlighting the results obtained by studying MT gene expression in most representative adult and embryonic tissues. The results demonstrate that in adults, cadmium induces MT transcription in a dose- and tissue-specific manner. Thus, the MT mRNAs appear, at least in some cases, to be an unsuitable tool for detecting environmental ion contamination. In early embryos, maternal RNAs sustain developmental needs for MT protein until organogenesis is well on its way. At this time, transcription starts, but again in a tissue- and organ-specific manner, suggesting an involvement in alternative roles. In conclusion, the spatiotemporal distribution of transcripts in adults and embryos definitively confirms that MT has deserved the title of elusive protein.
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spelling pubmed-55360572017-08-04 Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula Scudiero, Rosaria Verderame, Mariailaria Motta, Chiara Maria Simoniello, Palma Int J Mol Sci Review Metallothioneins (MTs) are an evolutionary conserved multigene family of proteins whose role was initially identified in binding essential metals. The physiological role of MT, however, has been revealed to be more complex than expected, since not only are MTs able to bind to toxic heavy metals, but many isoforms have shown specialized and alternative functions. Within this uncertainty, the information available on MTs in non-mammalian vertebrates, particularly in neglected tetrapods such as the reptiles, is even more scant. In this review, we provide a summary of the current understanding on metallothionein presence and function in the oviparous lizard Podarcis sicula, highlighting the results obtained by studying MT gene expression in most representative adult and embryonic tissues. The results demonstrate that in adults, cadmium induces MT transcription in a dose- and tissue-specific manner. Thus, the MT mRNAs appear, at least in some cases, to be an unsuitable tool for detecting environmental ion contamination. In early embryos, maternal RNAs sustain developmental needs for MT protein until organogenesis is well on its way. At this time, transcription starts, but again in a tissue- and organ-specific manner, suggesting an involvement in alternative roles. In conclusion, the spatiotemporal distribution of transcripts in adults and embryos definitively confirms that MT has deserved the title of elusive protein. MDPI 2017-07-19 /pmc/articles/PMC5536057/ /pubmed/28753953 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18071569 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Scudiero, Rosaria
Verderame, Mariailaria
Motta, Chiara Maria
Simoniello, Palma
Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula
title Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula
title_full Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula
title_fullStr Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula
title_full_unstemmed Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula
title_short Unravelling the Role of Metallothionein on Development, Reproduction and Detoxification in the Wall Lizard Podarcis sicula
title_sort unravelling the role of metallothionein on development, reproduction and detoxification in the wall lizard podarcis sicula
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5536057/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28753953
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms18071569
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