Karin M, Richards R I
Environ Health Perspect. 1984 Mar;54:111-5. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8454111.
Metallothioneins (MTs) are encoded by a multigene family in man. We have isolated those genes and analyzed the structure of some of them. The MT-II variant is encoded by a single functional gene: MT-IIA. The MT-IIB gene is a processed pseudogene derived from a reverse transcript of MT-II mRNA. On the other hand, the MT-I class of variants are encoded by a large number of genes, arranged in tandem. The MT-IIA and the MT-IA genes show a differential response to glucocorticoid hormones and heavy metals, yet they are both expressed in primary human fibroblasts and in HeLa cells. Expression of both of those genes, in high level after transfer on bovine papilloma virus vectors, leads to increased resistance of the host cells to cadmium-induced toxicity.
金属硫蛋白（MTs）由人类的一个多基因家族编码。我们已分离出这些基因并分析了其中一些基因的结构。MT-II变体由单个功能基因MT-IIA编码。MT-IIB基因是一个由MT-II mRNA反转录而来的加工假基因。另一方面，MT-I类变体由大量串联排列的基因编码。MT-IIA和MT-IA基因对糖皮质激素和重金属表现出不同的反应，但它们在原代人成纤维细胞和HeLa细胞中均有表达。在转移到牛乳头瘤病毒载体上后，这两个基因高水平表达会导致宿主细胞对镉诱导的毒性的抗性增加。
