INVOLVEMENT OF METALLOTHIONEIN AND COPPER IN CELL-PROLIFERATION

Metallothionein is a low-molecular weight, cysteine-rich, metal-bindin g protein which has been implicated in the detoxification of toxic met als (cadmium, mercury), metabolism of zinc and copper, as well as in t he scavenging of free radicals. Recent evidence suggests that the prot ein may also be involved in cell proliferation. Based on the experimen ts carried out so far, it is assumed that the fundamental role of meta llothionein in cell proliferation may be to detoxify and/or transfer c opper ions from the cytoplasm to the nucleus at the G1/S phase, which in turn participate in some way in nuclear DNA synthesis.