Abstract
Metallothionein (MT) proteins and mRNA levels were determined following exposure of neonatal rat primary astrocyte cultures to bismuth. MT mRNA were probed on Northern blots with [α- 32P]dCTP labeled synthetic cDNA probes specific for rat MT-I and MT-II mRNA. The probes for MT-I and MT-II mRNA hybridize to a single mRNA with a size appropriate for MT, approximately 550 and 450 base pairs for MT-I and MT-II, respectively. Expression of MT-I and MT-II mRNA in astrocyte monolayers exposed to 2 and 10 μM bismuth for 6 h was increased in a dose-dependent manner over MT-I and MT-II mRNA levels in control cells. Western-blot analysis revealed a time-dependent increase in MT protein synthesis through 72 h of exposure to bismuth (2–10 μM). Consistent with the bismuth-induced increase in MTs at the mRNA and protein levels, a time- (24–72 h) and dose-dependent (2–10 μM) increase in astrocytic MT-immunoreactivity was noted.
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