SHORT COMMUNICATION
Expression of Neuronal
Growth Inhibitory Factor (Metallothionein-III) in the Salivary
Gland
Y. IRIE1,2, F. MORI2, W. MING KEUNG3,
Y. MIZUSHIMA1, K. WAKABAYASHI2
1Department of Geriatrics and Medicine, 2Department
of Molecular Biology, Institute of Brain Science, Hirosaki
University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan and 3Department
of Pathology-CBBSM, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Received September 15, 2003
Accepted December 9, 2003
Summary
Metallothioneins (MTs) are metal-binding proteins that have been
regarded as intrinsic factors for protecting cells and tissues
from metal toxicity and oxidants. Among the three major classes
of MTs, MT-III is different from other MTs because it has
neuronal inhibitory activity and is only expressed in the
central nervous system. Recent studies, however, have confirmed
that MT-III is also expressed in organs other than the brain.
These findings not only indicate that MT-III has a much wider
tissue distribution than was originally thought, but also
suggest that it might have other unknown activities. In the
present study, we examined the human salivary and thyroid glands
and demonstrated that the MT-III gene is also expressed in the
salivary but not in the thyroid gland. While salivary ducts
showed intense immuno-reactivity with anti-MT-III, weak
immunoreactivity was observed in acinar cells. This, together
with the findings that some neuromodulators (i.e. nerve growth
factor, etc.) exist in the salivary gland and that MT-III may
participate in the transport in renal tubules, suggest that
MT-III may have other functions than cytoprotection in the
salivary gland.
Key words
Metallothionein-III • MT-III • GIF • Salivary gland • NGF
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