Immunohistochemical localization of metallothionein in human testicular embryonal carcinoma cells

Kontozoglou, Theodosios; Banerjee, Diponkar; Cherian, M. George

doi:10.1007/bf00718648

Cited by 72 publications

(34 citation statements)

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“…The differences in metallothionein localization in 4: '. ,I S embryonal carcinoma cells are closely related to their well-defined histomorphological patterns (19). This study showed that tumors with a typical glandular-papillary pattern, corresponding to the epiblastic or ectodermal pattern were strongly positive for metallothionein, while tumors growing in solid masses, designated embryoblastic, were negative or weakly positive for metallothionein at the periphery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…The immunohistochemical staining of metallothionein in various tumors showed its presence mainly in epithelial cells, especially on the proliferating edge of the tumor (19). There was a distinct difference between metallothionein staining in seminomas and nonseminomas in human testicular tumors (Table 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The presence of high levels of intracellular metallothionein during gestation and the early postnatal period, bound to zinc and copper in mammalian liver, is well documented (7)(8)(9)(10)(11). The estimation of metallothionein and metals in human liver and kidney for different age groups showed (12) Chin et al (20) Kontazoglou et al (19) Bahnson et al (18) Chauvin et al (21) Haile-Miskel et al (22) Haile-Miskel et al (22) aArchival paraffin-embedded tissue sections fixed in formalin were stained for metallothionein using a specific polyclonal antibody and peroxidase-antiperoxidase method as described in detail by Nartey et al (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The significance of the presence of metallothionein in the nucleus of hepatocytes during development (9,15) or partial hepatectomy (25) and also in certain tumor cells (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22) is not yet understood but may be related to the interactions of metal ions like zinc with various nuclear constituents during the cell cycle. The metals that bind to metallothionein can also bind to histones, nucleolar RNA, and nuclear acidic proteins, and may modify gene expression and phosphorylatin of regulatory proteins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The significance of the nuclear and cytoplasmic localization of metallothionein in human liver and tumor cells.

Cherian

1994

Environ Health Perspect

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Metallothioneins are a group of low-molecular-weight intracellular proteins present in high levels in fetal mammalian livers, bound to zinc and copper. They are also present in two major isoforms in low basal levels in various organs of adults in several species. Although a number of functions have been proposed for metallothioneins, their major biological roles may be in the storage of zinc and copper during rapid growth and development, and also in the detoxification of certain toxic metals. In adult liver, metallothionein is mainly localized in the cytoplasm, it is localized also in the hepatocyte nuclei in human fetal liver and fetal and neonatal rat liver, as determined by immunohistochemical staining with a specific metallothionein antibody. Because of its high expression in fetal development, the potential role of metallothioneins in human tumors was investigated. The cellular localization of metallothionein was demonstrated in various human tumors such as thyroid tumors, testicular germ cell carcinoma, bladder transitional cell carcinomas, and salivary gland tumors. In most of these tumor tissues, metallothioneins were found in high levels in nucleus and cytoplasm in both benign and malignant tumors, although the proliferating edge of the malignant tumors showed most intense metallothionein staining. The expression of metallothionein is not universal to all tumor growth; its presence may depend on various factors, such as the type of tumor, cellular origin, morphological heterogeneity, or stage of growth. Human testicular seminomas, which are well differentiated, showed little expression of metallothionein irrespective of the staging, as compared to less well-differentiated embryonal carcinomas. Preliminary studies with DNA flow cytometry on adenocarcinoma of breast and colon, using a fluorescent antibody to metallothionein, showed that metallothionein was present in the nucleus of the epithelial cells only in the S-phase of the cell cycle. Thus the nuclear presence of metallothionein in tumor cells is indicative of their proliferative activity, and metallothionein staining may be used as a marker of the proliferation index of certain tumors. -Environ Health Perspect 102(Suppl 3): 131-135 (1994).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The significance of the nuclear and cytoplasmic localization of metallothionein in human liver and tumor cells.

Cherian

1994

Environ Health Perspect

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“…The lower zinc in pancreatic endocrine neoplasms may require less MT for homeostasis and detoxification; however, the exact reason for the lower content of MT in pancreatic endocrine neoplasms is unknown. MT levels are elevated in certain tumors (20,21), including breast cancers (22,23), prostate carcinomas (24,25), testicular embryonal carcinomas (26), renal cell carcinomas (27), thyroid tumors (28), brain tumors (29), and others (2, 21, 30, 31). MT overexpression has been implicated in resistance to radiotherapy (31) and toxicity to chemotherapy (32).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metallothionein in Pancreatic Endocrine Neoplasms

Tomita

2000

Modern Pathology

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Metallothioneins (MTs) are intracellular proteins that bind to metal ions and are involved in heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification. Pancreatic islets were shown to be positive for zinc-containing matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 by immunocytochemical staining. The immunolocalization of matrix metalloproteinases in pancreatic islets prompted us to study further the link between zinc and MT in 34 cases of pancreatic endocrine neoplasms, including insulinomas, glucagonomas, gastrinomas, pancreatic polypeptide-omas, and nonfunctioning endocrine neoplasms. Four types of islet cells were found to be positive for MT, whereas pancreatic endocrine neoplasms mostly were either weakly positive or negative for MT. The presence of MT in normal islet cells and pancreatic endocrine neoplasms is consistent with the notion that MTs modulate zinc homeostasis and metabolism in pancreatic islet cells and pancreatic endocrine neoplasms as those tissues contain zinc-containing matrix metalloproteinases.

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