title: Screening the metallothionein III gene in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: Metallothioneins are proteins involved in antioxidant defence, essential metal homoeostasis and heavy metal detoxification, all mechanisms implicated in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS). We therefore looked for changes in the gene for nervous system-specific metallothionein III (MT3) that might explain susceptibility to SALS. DNA was extracted from 87 sporadic ALS and 174 matched controls. The gene for MT3 was sequenced in 20 SALS and 5 control subjects to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These SNPs were then screened in all subjects. Eight novel SNPs were found in the 5' untranslated region and intron 2 of MT3. No differences were found in the frequency distribution of alleles or haplotypes for these SNPs between the SALS and control groups. The genotype distribution of one SNP (A1422C) was significantly different between ALS and control groups (p<0.02) but this is not likely to be biologically relevant. We conclude that changes in the MT3 gene are unlikely to be responsible for susceptibility to SALS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Julia M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Morahan
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Trent
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pamphlett
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods*; D005838:Genotype; D005998:Glycine / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000090023:Metallothionein 3; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000090023:Metallothionein 3; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D003545:Cysteine; D005998:Glycine