MT-III, a brain-specific member of the metallothionein gene family.
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Palmiter RD, Findley SD, Whitmore TE, Durnam DM
MT-III, a brain-specific member of the metallothionein gene family.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jul 15;89(14):6333-7.
- PubMed ID
- 1631128 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
A third member of the metallothionein (MT) gene family, designated MT-III, was cloned by virtue of its homology to a human protein that was shown previously to inhibit neuronal survival in culture and to be deficient in the brains of people with Alzheimer disease. Human and mouse MT-IIIs have two insertions relative to all other known mammalian MTs: a threonine after the fourth amino acid and a block of six amino acids near the carboxyl terminus. The genes encoding MT-III resemble all other mammalian MT genes in their small size and exon/intron organization. The MT-III genes are closely linked to the other functional MT genes on human chromosome 16 and mouse chromosome 8. Mouse MT-III gene expression appears to be restricted to brain; in addition, it fails to respond to zinc, cadmium, dexamethasone, or bacterial endotoxin in vivo, thereby distinguishing MT-III from other known MTs.