Metallothionein polymorphisms in pathological processes

Martina Raudenska; Jaromir Gumulec; Ondrej Podlaha; Marketa Sztalmachova; Petr Babula; Tomas Eckschlager; Vojtech Adam; Rene Kizek; Michal Masarik

doi:10.1039/C3MT00132F

Metallothionein polymorphisms in pathological processes

Martina Raudenska,^ab Jaromir Gumulec,^ab Ondrej Podlaha,^c Marketa Sztalmachova,^ad Petr Babula,^e Tomas Eckschlager,^f Vojtech Adam,^bd Rene Kizek^bd and Michal Masarik*^ab

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* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Pathological Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, CZ-625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
E-mail: masarik@med.muni.cz
Fax: +420-5-4949-4340
Tel: +420-5-4949-3631

^b Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Technicka 3058/10, CZ-616 00 Brno, Czech Republic

^c Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA

^d Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno/Zemedelska 1, CZ-613 00 Brno, Czech Republic

^e Department of Natural Drugs, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1-3, CZ-612 42 Brno, Czech Republic

^f Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University and University Hospital Motol, V Uvalu 84, CZ-150 06 Prague 5, Czech Republic

Abstract

Metallothioneins (MTs) are a class of metal-binding proteins characterized by a high cysteine content and low molecular weight. MTs play an important role in metal metabolism and protect cells against the toxic effects of radiation, alkylating agents and oxygen free radicals. The evidence that individual genetic characteristics of MTs play an important role in physiological and pathological processes associated with antioxidant defense and detoxification inspired targeted studies of genetic polymorphisms in a clinical context. In recent years, common MT polymorphisms were identified and associated with, particularly, western lifestyle diseases such as cancer, complications of atherosclerosis, and type 2 diabetes mellitus along with related complications. This review summarizes all evidence regarding MT polymorphisms of major human MTs (MT1, MT2, MT3 and MT4), their relation to pathological processes, and outlines specific applications of MTs as a set of genetic markers for certain pathologies.

Metallomics

Metallothionein polymorphisms in pathological processes

Abstract

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