Metallothionein in human lung carcinoma.

Eleven pairs of surgically resected lung cancers and corresponding non-neoplastic lung tissue were evaluated for metallothionein (MT) and metal content (cadmium and copper) by the heme/109Cd binding assay and atomic absorption spectroscopy, respectively. Tissue samples, obtained from patients ranging in age from 51 to 79, included six adenocarcinomas, two small cell carcinomas, one mixed cell carcinoma, one squamous cell carcinoma, and one carcinoma of non-primary origin (i.e., melanoma). Paired t-tests showed that metallothionein and copper concentrations in lung tumor tissue were significantly elevated when compared to non-malignant lung tissue. Cu was the major metal associated with the 10 kDa MT fraction in lung tumors whereas Cd was the primary metal bound to MT from non-neoplastic lung tissue. Since Cu-thionein is also known to be elevated in fetal lung tissue, the possibility exists that MT might represent an oncodevelopmental product which is useful as a biomarker for the early detection of lung carcinoma.

Metallothionein in rat lung during postnatal development.

Zn and Cu concentration, content, and distribution in lung were quantitated in neonatal and adult Lewis rats. Total lung Cu and Zn content rose dramatically during postnatal development, paralleling increases in lung and body weight. Cu concentration was 2-fold higher in adult lung than in neonatal lung whereas Zn concentration was unaffected by developmental age. A Cu-containing protein with an approximate molecular weight of 10,000 Da was identified immunologically as metallothionein (MT). At term, native MT concentration in the lung was 4-fold higher than in adult lungs. By day 4 postpartum, MT concentration was reduced by half and reached a level characteristic of the adult by 7 days postpartum. MT was localized in nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments of positive lung cells by immunofluorescent techniques; initially, nuclear MT staining was more intense than cytoplasmic staining.

Induction of pulmonary metallothionein following oxygen exposure.

Metallothionein (MT) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in lungs of animals exposed 0, 3, and 6 days to 85% oxygen. MT levels increased with duration of exposure from 112.0 ng/lung in sham air control animals to 872.6 ng/lung in animals exposed for 6 days to oxygen. Gel chromatographic analysis of lung homogenates from oxygen-exposed animals revealed the presence of a copper- and zinc-binding component with an approximate molecular weight of 12,000 Da. It was heat stable and cross-reacted with anti-MT. The induction of pulmonary Cu/Zn-thionein was accompanied by an acute phase response, characterized by elevated serum Cu and ceruloplasmin levels and depressed serum Zn. Total lung Cu and Zn also increased, perhaps as a consequence of normal repairative processes necessitated by the oxidant injury. Increased adrenal weight and coincident thymic atrophy in oxygen-exposed animals suggested the participation of adrenocorticosteroids in the induction process.

Pulmonary tolerance to cadmium following cadmium aerosol pretreatment.

Male Lewis rats pretreated by inhalation of an atmosphere containing 1.6 mg Cd/m3 for 4 weeks (3 hr/day, 5 days/week) exhibited pulmonary tolerance when challenged with a single 3-hr acute exposure to 8.4 mg Cd/m3. Tolerance in prior-exposed animals was suggested by (a) bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis showing a reduction in the number of inflammatory cells and decreased release of lactic dehydrogenase, alkaline and acid phosphatase, and protein into the alveolar space and (b) an earlier resolution in lung histopathology following Cd challenge compared to sham air control animals. Multiple defense mechanisms appear to be involved in the development of pulmonary tolerance to Cd. Metallothionein (MT) content in lungs of prior-exposed animals was 50-fold higher than that in untreated animals. The amount of Cd retained in the lungs after the challenge dose was the same regardless of whether the animals had been pretreated with Cd. However, the Cd/thionein ratio was considerably lower in treated animals and did not increase upon challenge, suggesting that synthesis of MT was keeping abreast with the amount of accumulated Cd. Pretreatment of animals with Cd aerosols also led to an increase in the number of type II alveolar cells which may, in turn, be responsible for increasing nonprotein sulfhydryl groups and antioxidant enzymes in the lung.

Cross-tolerance to hyperoxia following cadmium aerosol pretreatment.

Preexposure of male Lewis rats to Cd aerosols (1.6 mg Cd/m3, 3 hr/day, 5 days/week, for 4 weeks) has been found to produce a marked degree of tolerance to hyperoxia (greater than 96% O2). Cd-pretreated animals were still alive after 8 days of continuous exposure to oxygen. In contrast, hyperoxia was fatal to all air-preexposed animals within 54-62 hr. Lungs of Cd-pretreated animals were characterized by hyperplasia and/or hypertrophy of the type II alveolar cell compartment which may have enabled them to more rapidly repair oxidant damage resulting from hyperoxia. Cd pretreatment augmented enzymatic antioxidant enzyme activities, including total lung Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, catalase, glutathione reductase, and Mn-superoxide dismutase, and caused elevations in pulmonary nonprotein thiols and metallothionein (MT). MT, a thiol-rich, low-molecular-weight protein, was 400-fold higher in Cd-pretreated animals and bound more than 80% of the total Cd in the lung. We have hypothesized that MT serves as an expendable yet renewable cellular target for free radical damage during oxygen exposure. A systemic acute-phase response, characterized by alterations in plasma Zn and Cu concentrations and increased ceruloplasmin oxidase activity, was initiated in Cd-pretreated animals by the fourth day of hyperoxia. This response was accompanied by improvement in pulmonary status and extensive pulmonary repair.