title: Binding of mercury to metallothionein-like protein in fetal liver of the guinea pig following in utero exposure to mercury vapor.
abstract: After exposure of pregnant guinea pigs to mercury vapor, the soluble fraction of maternal or fetal liver was chromatographed on a Sephadex G-75 column. In the fetal liver, more than 50% of the mercury was bound to metallothionein-like protein having a molecular weight of about 10,000-12,000. On the other hand, the bulk of the eluted mercury in the maternal liver was associated with a high molecular weight protein, with only a small amount associated with metallothionein-like protein. The findings suggest that fetal metallothionein-like protein plays a role in preventing further distribution of mercury after in utero exposure to mercury vapor.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism*; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011485:Protein Binding; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008668:Metallothionein; D008628:Mercury