title: MT-III, a brain-specific member of the metallothionein gene family.
abstract: A third member of the metallothionein (MT) gene family, designated MT-III, was cloned by virtue of its homology to a human protein that was shown previously to inhibit neuronal survival in culture and to be deficient in the brains of people with Alzheimer disease. Human and mouse MT-IIIs have two insertions relative to all other known mammalian MTs: a threonine after the fourth amino acid and a block of six amino acids near the carboxyl terminus. The genes encoding MT-III resemble all other mammalian MT genes in their small size and exon/intron organization. The MT-III genes are closely linked to the other functional MT genes on human chromosome 16 and mouse chromosome 8. Mouse MT-III gene expression appears to be restricted to brain; in addition, it fails to respond to zinc, cadmium, dexamethasone, or bacterial endotoxin in vivo, thereby distinguishing MT-III from other known MTs.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Palmiter
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Findley
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Whitmore
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Durnam
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002885:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D008668:Metallothionein