Disruption of the metallothionein-III gene in mice: analysis of brain zinc, behavior, and neuron vulnerability to metals, aging, and seizures.

Metallothionein-III (MT-III), a brain-specific member of the metallothionein family of metal-binding proteins, is abundant in glutamatergic neurons that release zinc from their synaptic terminals, such as hippocampal pyramidal neurons and dentate granule cells. MT-III may be an important regulator of zinc in the nervous system, and its absence has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease. However, the roles of MT-III in brain physiology and pathophysiology have not been elucidated. Mice lacking MT-III because of targeted gene inactivation were generated to evaluate the neurobiological significance of MT-III. MT-III-deficient mice had decreased concentrations of zinc in several brain regions, including hippocampus, but the pool of histochemically reactive zinc was not disturbed. Mutant mice exhibited normal spatial learning in the Morris water maze and were not sensitive to systemic zinc or cadmium exposure. No neuropathology or behavioral deficits were detected in 2-year-old MT-III-deficient mice, but the age-related increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein expression was more pronounced in mutant brain. MT-III-deficient mice were more susceptible to seizures induced by kainic acid and subsequently exhibited greater neuron injury in the CA3 field of hippocampus. Conversely, transgenic mice containing elevated levels of MT-III were more resistant to CA3 neuron injury induced by seizures. These observations suggest a potential role for MT-III in zinc regulation during neural stimulation.