title: Quantitative immunochemical evaluation of fish metallothionein upon exposure to cadmium.
abstract: Efficient implementation of an environmental biomarker requires multi-annual comparability over a wide geographical range. The present study improved the comparability of a quantitative competitive metallothionein (MT) enzyme-linked-immuno-sorbent-assay (ELISA) in the sentinel fish Lithognathus mormyrus by introducing to the assay recombinant MT and beta-actin standards. Commercial antibodies for cod MT and mammalian actin were implemented. In addition, a sensitive anti L. mormyrus MT antibody was produced, adequate only for solid phase immunochemical assays. Cadmium was applied to the fish through injection and feeding to serve as a testing platform of the ELISA. The results demonstrated high potential protective capacity of the liver against toxic levels of transition metals through increasing MT levels. MT transcript levels were evaluated also from fish sampled at polluted and relatively clean natural sites, indicating applicability of MT as biomarker of exposure to a multi-factorial pollution, in comparison to its low revealed sensitivity to controlled cadmium exposure.
authors.affiliation: Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel.
authors.forename: Yana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yudkovski
authors.forename: Adelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rogowska-Wrzesinska
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yankelevich
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shefer
authors.forename: Barak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herut
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tom
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D010473:Perciformes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015415:Biomarkers; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014873:Water Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein