Protein Information

Name metallothionein (protein family or complex)
Synonyms Metallothionein; Metallothioneins

Compound Information

Name sodium arsenite
CAS sodium arsenenite

Reference List

PubMed Abstract RScore(About this table)
8874798 Lu TH, Pepe J, Lambrecht RW, Bonkovsky HL: Regulation of metallothionein gene expression. Biochimie. 1996;78(4):236-44.

We conclude that the heme-dependent induction of the liver metallothionein gene depends upon DNA region (s) outside the regulatory region of the chick metallothionein gene studied here and that elements within the first 122 base pairs of the metallothionein promoter are sufficient to confer responsiveness to transition metals or sodium arsenite.
8(0,0,1,3) Details
11693492 Garrett SH, Belcastro M, Sens MA, Somji S, Sens DA: Acute exposure to arsenite induces metallothionein isoform-specific gene expression in human proximal tubule cells. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2001 Oct 26;64(4):343-55.

The expression of metallothionein (MT) mRNA and protein was determined in human proximal tubule cells (HPT) following acute exposure to the classic stimulators of the stress response, heat and sodium arsenite (As3+).
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9848127 Shimizu M, Hochadel JF, Fulmer BA, Waalkes MP: Effect of glutathione depletion and metallothionein gene expression on arsenic-induced cytotoxicity and c-myc expression in vitro. Toxicol Sci. 1998 Oct;45(2):204-11.

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17785947 Suzuki T, Ohata S, Togawa T, Himeno S, Tanabe S: Arsenic accumulation decreased in metallothionein null Cisplatin-resistant cell lines. J Toxicol Sci. 2007 Aug;32(3):321-8.

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14555400 Sens D, Rossi M, Park S, Gurel V, Nath J, Garrett S, Sens MA, Somji S: Metallothionein isoform 1 and 2 gene expression in a human urothelial cell line (UROtsa) exposed to CdCl2 and NaAsO2. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2003 Nov 14;66(21):2031-46.

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9440242 Schlenk D, Wolford L, Chelius M, Steevens J, Chan KM: Effect of arsenite, arsenate, and the herbicide monosodium methyl arsonate (MSMA) on hepatic metallothionein expression and lipid peroxidation in channel catfish. Comp Biochem Physiol C Pharmacol Toxicol Endocrinol. 1997 Oct;118(2):177-83.

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9762410 Flora SJ, Tripathi N: Hepatic and renal metallothionein induction following single oral administration of gallium arsenide in rats. Biochem Mol Biol Int. 1998 Sep;45(6):1121-7.

The data is also supplemented with two additional groups exposed to gallium (III) as gallium oxide and arsenic (III) as sodium arsenite to determine which of the two moieties in GaAs is responsible for any such possible effects.
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17077188 Shen J, Liu J, Xie Y, Diwan BA, Waalkes MP: Fetal onset of aberrant gene expression relevant to pulmonary carcinogenesis in lung adenocarcinoma development induced by in utero arsenic exposure. Toxicol Sci. 2007 Feb;95(2):313-20. Epub 2006 Oct 31.


In utero arsenic exposure also induced overexpression of alpha-fetoprotein, epidermal growth factor receptor, L-myc, and metallothionein-1 in fetal lung, all of which are associated with lung cancer.
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11353140 Liu J, Kadiiska MB, Liu Y, Lu T, Qu W, Waalkes MP: Stress-related gene expression in mice treated with inorganic arsenicals. Toxicol Sci. 2001 Jun;61(2):314-20.

Western blot analysis further confirmed the enhanced production of arsenic-induced stress proteins such as HO-1, HSP70, HSP90, metallothionein, the metal-responsive transcription factor MTF-1, nuclear factor kappa B and c-Jun/AP-1.
Mice were injected sc with either sodium arsenite [As (III), 100 micromol/kg], sodium arsenate [As (V), 300 micromol/kg], or saline.
1(0,0,0,1) Details
12679051 Zheng XH, Watts GS, Vaught S, Gandolfi AJ: Low-level arsenite induced gene expression in HEK293 cells. Toxicology. 2003 May 1;187(1):39-48.


The affected genes indicate that even this realistic, low-level arsenite exposure was recognized by the HEK293 cells (e.g. metallothionein genes) and produced an oxidative stress (e.g. heme oxygenase gene).
1(0,0,0,1) Details
7999084 Guzzo A, Karatzios C, Diorio C, DuBow MS: Metallothionein-II and ferritin H mRNA levels are increased in arsenite-exposed HeLa cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1994 Nov 30;205(1):590-5.

A cDNA subtraction was performed between cDNA synthesized from HeLa cells grown in the absence and presence of 5 microM sodium arsenite.
These results suggest the possibility that arsenite exposure may lead to increased levels of oxygen radicals, which augmented metallothionein and ferritin can act to detoxify.
1(0,0,0,1) Details
18296743 Wu J, Liu J, Waalkes MP, Cheng ML, Li L, Li CX, Yang Q: High dietary fat exacerbates arsenic-induced liver fibrosis in mice. Exp Biol Med. 2008 Mar;233(3):377-84.

Mice were given sodium arsenite (As3+, 200 ppm) or sodium arsenate (As5+, 200 ppm) in the drinking water for 10 months, and provided a normal diet or a diet containing 20% added fat.
The expression of the stress-related gene heme oxygenase-1 was increased, while metallothionein-1 and GSH S-transferase-pi were decreased when arsenic was combined with the high fat diet.
1(0,0,0,1) Details
2777774 Disa S, Manilla AC, Scher CD: Purification and characterization of a platelet-derived growth factor and heavy metal-modulated nuclear protein. J Biol Chem. 1989 Sep 25;264(27):15993-9.


Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), fibroblast growth factor, and heavy metal salts such as sodium arsenite stimulated BALB/c-3T3 cells to synthesize a 31-kDa protein (s) (termed p31) in a concentration-dependent manner. p31 was also synthesized in response to 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA).
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15694464 Kimura A, Ishida Y, Wada T, Yokoyama H, Mukaida N, Kondo T: MRP-1 expression levels determine strain-specific susceptibility to sodium arsenic-induced renal injury between C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2005 Feb 15;203(1):53-61.


To clarify the pathophysiological mechanism underlying acute renal injury caused by acute exposure to arsenic, we subcutaneously injected both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice with sodium arsenite (NaAs; 13.5 mg/kg).
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