IMMUNOHISTOLOGICAL STUDIES OF METALLOTHIONEIN : II. ITS DETECTION IN THE HUMAN FETAL KIDNEY

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The occurrence of metallothionein, a metal-binding cysteine-rich low molecularweight protein, in the human fetal kidney of 4th to 10th month gestational age was observed for the first time by means of the immunofluorescent antibody technique. The protein was visualized by direct and indirect methods using the purified fluorescent isothiocyanate conjugate of the antiserum, which was obtained by immunizing rabbits with equine renal metallothionein-1B. A metal-binding protein with molecular weight of about 10,000 was obtained by gel filtration chromatography of human fetal kidneys. It is thiolate group-rich-protein and contains copper and zinc. Metallothionein in the human fetal kidney is presumably bound to copper and zinc. Fluorescence was observed to be diffused throughout the cytoplasms of the tubules, but not in the glomerulus of the fetal kidney. This localization is the same as that found in the adult human kidney. The intensity of the fluorescence seems to increase parallel to the process of gestation and to depend on the concentration of copper in fetal kidneys, which is presumably bound to metallothionein.
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