title: Metallothionein and apoptosis during differentiation of myoblasts to myotubes: protection against free radical toxicity.
abstract: The changes in subcellular localization of metallothionein (MT) during differentiation were studied in two muscle cell lines, L6 and H9C2, myoblasts in order to understand the nuclear presence of MT and its antiapoptotic property. In myoblasts, MT and zinc were localized mainly in the cytoplasm but were translocated into the nucleus of newly formed myotubes during early stage of differentiation, which was initiated by lowering FBS from 10% to 1%. In fully differentiated myotubes, metallothionein content was decreased with a cytoplasmic localization. These changes in subcellular localization of MT and Zn were accompanied by increased apoptosis in myotubes. The changes in the apoptosis at different stages of differentiation were measured by both DNA ladder formation and TUNEL technique. The results also show that the apoptosis may be initiated by free radical generation and may be accompanied by p53 expression. The H9C2 cells contained high levels of MT, differentiated slowly, and had low incidence of apoptotic bodies compared to L6 cell line.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Pharmacology, and Toxicology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 5C1, Canada.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Apostolova
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Ivanova
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cherian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D001692:Biological Transport; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000633:toxicity*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000502:physiology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005609:Free Radicals; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D008668:Metallothionein; D003402:Creatine Kinase