Drechsel Victoria, Schauer Karl, Šrut Maja, Höckner Martina
Institute of Zoology, Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Division of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 May 24;18(6):1113. doi: 10.3390/ijms18061113.
Metallothioneins (MTs) are multifunctional proteins occurring throughout the animal kingdom. While the expression and transcriptional regulation of MTs is well-studied in vertebrates, the mechanism of MT activation is still unknown for most invertebrates. Therefore, we examined gene regulation and expression patterns in and Transcription levels, the occupation of DNA binding sites, the expression of putative transcriptional regulators, and promotor DNA methylation were determined. We found that expression does not follow a circadian pattern. However, Cd-induced induction was observed, and was, interestingly, suppressed by physical injury. Moreover, the promotor region that is responsible for the gene regulation was elucidated. ATF, a putative transcriptional regulator, showed increased phosphorylation upon Cd exposure, suggesting that it plays a major role in gene activation. The promotor methylation of , on the other hand, is probably not involved in transcriptional regulation. Elucidating the regulatory mechanism of the earthworm gene activation might provide insights into the molecular coordination of the environmental stress response in invertebrates, and might also reveal a link to wound repair and, in a broader sense, to immunity.
金属硫蛋白（MTs）是存在于整个动物界的多功能蛋白质。虽然MTs在脊椎动物中的表达和转录调控已得到充分研究，但大多数无脊椎动物中MT激活的机制仍然未知。因此，我们研究了蚯蚓和果蝇中的基因调控和表达模式。测定了转录水平、DNA结合位点的占据情况、假定转录调节因子的表达以及启动子DNA甲基化。我们发现蚯蚓MT表达不遵循昼夜节律模式。然而，观察到镉诱导的MT诱导，有趣的是，物理损伤会抑制这种诱导。此外，阐明了负责蚯蚓MT基因调控的启动子区域。一种假定的转录调节因子ATF在镉暴露后显示磷酸化增加，表明它在蚯蚓MT基因激活中起主要作用。另一方面，蚯蚓MT的启动子甲基化可能不参与转录调控。阐明蚯蚓MT基因激活的调控机制可能为无脊椎动物环境应激反应的分子协调提供见解，也可能揭示与伤口修复以及更广泛意义上的免疫的联系。
