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RADIOIMMUNOASSAY OF METALLOTHIONEIN
Citation:
Friedberg, F. RADIOIMMUNOASSAY OF METALLOTHIONEIN. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/1-78/010 (NTIS PB277048), 1978.
Description:
The goal of this project was to develop a radioimmunoassay for metallothionein. Since this protein is involved with the transport of cadmium in biological systems and may in fact protect against cadmium poisoning, the ability to monitor the levels in the human population is of the utmost importance to evaluation of the hazards of environmental cadmium exposure. While researchers do not agree whether copper thioneins and zinc thioneins of rats are identical, this study found in preliminary analysis that zinc thionein appears to have a composition similar to that of copper chelatins. It is recommended that development of a radioimmunoassay should not be attempted until the putative metallothioneing is clearly characterized. There are too many kinds of metallothionein induced by the injection of different metals according to the reports in the literature. They must be properly identified first.