Induction of Metallothionein Synthesis in the Gill and Kidney ofLittorina LittoreaExposed to Cadmium

Abstract

Induction of metallothionein synthesis inLittorina littoreaexposed to cadmium (400 µg I-1) is tissue dependent. Concentrations of the metal-binding protein increased by a factor of four in the gills and by a factor of three in the kidney.Gel filtration chromatography of heat-treated cytosolic extracts reveals that cadmium, accumulated in both the gills and the kidney, is bound principally to the newly formed metallothionein. Cadmium saturation of the protein (at an MT:Cd molar ratio of 1:5) and the approach of steady-state condition for Cd accumulation was indicated in the latter tissue, but there was little evidence for Cd equilibrium in gills.Metallothionein levels in the kidney ofL. littoreacan be determined on a routine basis in laboratory experiments and in field samples by differential pulse polarography of wholecytosol preparations: heat-treatment/centrifugation is sufficient to remove most of the interference from high-molecular-weight thiolic proteins. In contrast, the use of gelfiltration chromatography is recommended alongside polarographic analysis of the gill cytosol to enable quantification of, and compensation for, such interferences, and hence to ensure that only metallothionein is determined.Measurements of metallothionein induction in the kidney ofLittorinamay therefore prove useful in the determination of sublethal biological response to metal contamination. Background metallothionein concentrations of 3–4 mg g-1(measured polarographically) serve as a baseline against which samples from contaminated sites can be assessed.INTRODUCTIONExposure of marine organisms to metals such as cadmium can induce the synthesis of low molecular weight, cysteine-rich proteins, metallothioneins (MTs), which are capable of sequestering and detoxifying excess intra-cellular metal.