Abstract

By electrophoretic and immunological assay the concentration of hepatic metallothionein in new born chick liver was found to be ontogenically modulated, reaching a peak accumulation per gram liver in fourth day of hatching and declining below the detection limit after second week postnatal. The protein was undetectable upto second week of incubation in egg-embryonic stage. The concentration of metallothionein mRNA shows drastic change during first few days after hatching. The greatest accumulation of metallothionein mRNA was detected in the one day new born chicks, which declined rapidly there after, and reduced to a barely detectable level. Metallothionein was also detected in the in vitro translated product of one day neonatal chick hepatic poly(A+) RNA by S-cysteine labelling and immunoprecipitation. The naturally occurring new-born chick liver metallothionein was found to be a zinc-metallothionein and the concentration of hepatic zinc in new-born chick was found to undergo drastic modulation during development, unlike some other chick tissues. Endogenous zinc ion mobilization can thus play a significant role in the developmental regulation of chick metallothionein expression.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.