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There is increasing evidence that toxic metals play a role in diseases of unknown etiology. Their action is often mediated by membrane proteins, and in particular neurotransmitter receptors. This brief review will describe recent findings on the direct interaction of metal ions with ionotropic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) and glutamate receptors, the main inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter...
Μetal cofactors are required for enzymatic catalysis and structural stability of many proteins. Physiological metal requirements underpin the evolution of cellular and systemic regulatory mechanisms for metal uptake, storage and excretion. Considering the role of metal biology in animal evolution, this paper asks whether metal content is conserved between different fruit flies. A similar metal homeostasis...
Metals bind to the bacterial cell wall, yet the binding mechanisms and affinity constants are not fully understood. The cell wall of gram positive bacteria is characterized by a thick layer of peptidoglycan and anionic teichoic acids anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane as lipoteichoic acid or covalently bound to the cell wall as wall teichoic acid. The polyphosphate groups of teichoic acid provide...
Lactoferrin (Lf), present in colostrum and milk is a member of the transferrin family of iron-binding glyco-proteins, with stronger binding capacity to ferric iron than hemoglobin, myoglobin or transferrin. Unlike hemoglobin and myoglobin, iron-bound Lf is reasonably stable to gastric and duodenal digestive conditions. Unlike ferrous iron, ferric iron is not directly reactive with oxygen supporting...
Tobacco can easily accumulate cadmium (Cd) in leaves and thus poses a potential threat to human health. Cd-stress-hydroponic-experiments were performed, and the proteomic and transcriptional features of two contrasting tobacco genotypes Yun-yan2 (Cd-tolerant) and Guiyan1 (Cd-sensitive) were compared. We identified 18 Cd-tolerance-associated proteins in leaves, using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis...
The gold(III) complexes of the type [(DACH)Au(en)]Cl3, 1,2-Diaminocyclohexane ethylenediamine gold(III) chloride [where 1,2-DACH = cis-, trans-1,2- and S,S-1,2diaminocyclohexane and en = ethylenediamine] have been synthesized and characterized using various analytical and spectroscopic techniques including elemental analysis, UV–Vis and FTIR spectra; and solution as well as solid-state NMR measurements...
ZAT12 a C2H2-zinc-finger protein is an abiotic stress-responsive transcription factor in plants having less information about their structure. Transcription analysis proved that ZAT12 transcripts over-expressed during drought, heat and salt stress conditions which led to an interest in 3-D structural studies of ZAT12in Brassica carinata. Over-expression of BcZAT12 in transformed tomato plants under...
The essential trace element zinc plays a critical role in the regulation of immune homeostasis. Zinc deficiency or excess can cause severe impairment of the immune response, which points to the importance of the physiological and dietary control of zinc levels for a functioning immune system. We previously reported that injection of zinc aspartate suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis...
The reactivity of the [Pt(dmba)(aza-N1)(dmso)] complex 1, (a potential antitumoral drug with lower IC50 than cisplatin in several tumoral cell lines) with different proteins and oligonucleotides is investigated by means of mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS). The results obtained show a particular binding behaviour of this platinum(II) complex. The interaction of 1 with the assayed proteins apparently...
We have previously reported that nickel acetate (Ni2+), a well-known human carcinogenic agents, differentially affected apoptosis in two different airway epithelial cell lines derived from the human respiratory tract (A549 and Beas-2B, respectively), suggesting a potential involvement of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Neu receptors in mediating this effect. Since ErbBs are closely associated...
Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) is a key regulator in signaling networks that control cell proliferation, metabolism, development, and other processes. Lithium chloride is a GSK-3 family inhibitor that has been a mainstay of in vitro and in vivo studies for many years. Beryllium salt has the potential to act as a lithium-like inhibitor of GSK-3, but it is not known whether this agent is effective...
The ArsA ATPase is the catalytic subunit of the ArsAB As(III) efflux pump. It receives trivalent As(III) from the intracellular metallochaperone ArsD. The interaction of ArsA and ArsD allows for resistance to As(III) at environmental concentrations. A quadruple mutant in the arsD gene encoding a K2A/K37A/K62A/K104A ArsD is unable to interact with ArsA. An error-prone mutagenesis approach was used...
Desferrioxamine (DFO) is a potent iron chelator used in the treatment of iron overload (IO) disorders. However, due to its low cell permeability and fast clearance, DFO administration is usually prolonged and of limited use for the treatment of IO in tissues such as the brain. Caffeine is a safe, rapidly absorbable molecule that can be linked to other compounds to improve their cell permeability....
Biodegradable magnesium alloy implants have attracted much attention because of their excellent biocompatibility and good mechanical properties. However, effects of Mg alloy on cell apoptosis remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Mg-6Zn alloy on the apoptosis and necrosis of common bile duct (CBD) epithelial cells. In the in vitro experiments, primary mouse extrahepatic...
Silver nanoparticles are known to have antimicrobial properties and have been used extensively in medicine, although the mechanism(s) of action have not yet been clearly established. In the present study, the findings suggest a novel mechanism for the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles on Escherichia coli, namely, the induction of a bacterial apoptosis-like response. We propose a possible...
The purpose of this study was to determine metal ion levels in central visual system structures of the DBA/2J mouse model of glaucoma. We used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to measure levels of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), and calcium (Ca) in the retina and retinal projection of 5-month (pre-glaucomatous) and 10-month (glaucomatous) old...
Copper, a transition metal with essential biological functions, exerts neurotoxic effects when present in excess. The aim of the present study was to better elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms of CuSO4 toxicity in differentiated P19 neurons. Exposure to 0.5 mM CuSO4 for 24 h provoked moderate decrease in viability, accompanied with barely increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)...
Selenium (Se), which is a central component for the biosynthesis and functionality of selenoproteins, plays an important role in the anti-oxidative response, reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism and the protection from infection and inflammation. However, dietary Se effects have not well been established to date and the available studies often present contradictory results. To obtain a better...
Autophagy is a highly conserved degradative process through which cells overcome stressful conditions. Inasmuch as faulty autophagy has been associated with aging, neuronal degeneration disorders, diabetes, and fatty liver, autophagy is regarded as a potential therapeutic target. This review summarizes the present state of knowledge concerning the role of zinc in the regulation of autophagy, the role...
In recent years several studies in laboratory settings and in hospital environments have demonstrated that surfaces of massive metallic copper have intrinsic antibacterial and antiviral properties. Microbes are rapidly inactivated by a quick, sharp shock known as contact killing. The underlying mechanism is not yet fully understood; however, in this process the cytoplasmic membrane is severely damaged...
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