MTs (metallothioneins) increase the resistance of cells to exposure to high Cu (copper) levels. Characterization of the MT-Cu complex suggests that MT has an important role in the cellular storage and/or delivery of Cu ions to cuproenzymes. In this work we investigate how these properties contribute to Cu homoeostasis by evaluating the uptake, accumulation and efflux of Cu in wild-type and MT I...

Cu and Fe metabolism are known to be linked, but the interactions during pregnancy are less well studied. In the present study we used rats to examine the effect of Cu deficiency during pregnancy on Fe and Cu levels in maternal and fetal tissue and on the gene expression profile of proteins involved in Cu and Fe metabolism in the placenta. Rats were fed diets with different Cu contents before a...

This is the first study to implement a genomic approach to ascertain both transcriptional and functional end points of chronic Cu toxicity in fish associated with experimentally manipulated water chemistries. Over 21 d, zebrafish acclimated to softwater (Na(+) = 0.06 mM, Ca(2+) = 0.08 mM, Mg(2+) = 0.03 mM) were exposed to the following: soft-water (Ctrl); 12 microg L(-1) Cu (Cu); 3.3 mM Na(+) (...

In this paper, the effect of Ni on the formation of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn intermetallics between tin and (Cu,Ni)-substrates has been studied by making use of the thermodynamic assessment of the Sn-Cu-Ni system. The driving forces for the diffusion of the elements in the intermetallic layers were calculated as a function of Ni-content. Assuming constant mobilities of component atoms, the results sugg...

Copper (Cu) is a cofactor in proteins that are involved in electron transfer reactions and is an essential micronutrient for plants. Copper delivery is accomplished by the concerted action of a set of evolutionarily conserved transporters and metallochaperones. As a result of regulation of transporters in the root and the rarity of natural soils with high Cu levels, very few plants in nature wi...

doi: 10.1111/j.1399-3054.2006.00809.x Among the Arabidopsis thaliana accessions Columbia (Col), Landsberg erecta (Ler), and Wassilewskija (Ws), Ler and Ws showed higher copper (Cu) tolerance than Col, while accumulating more Cu. Thus, Cu tolerance did not appear to be related to metal exclusion. Rather, the higher Cu tolerance of Ler and Ws may reflect less Cu-induced nutrient deficiency as the...

The copper-transporting P-type ATPases (Cu-ATPases), ATP7A and ATP7B, are essential for the regulation of intracellular copper homeostasis. In this report we describe new roles for glutathione (GSH) and glutaredoxin1 (GRX1) in Cu homeostasis through their regulation of Cu-ATPase activity. GRX1 is a thiol oxidoreductase that catalyzes the reversible reduction of GSH-mixed disulfides to their res...

Divalent metal transporter #1 (DMT1) is responsible for intestinal nonheme Fe apical uptake. However, DMT1 appears to have an additional function in Cu transport in intestinal cells. Because the liver has an essential role in body Cu homeostasis, we examined the potential involvement of Cu in the regulation of DMT1 expression and activity in Hep-G2 cells. Cells exposed to 10 microM Cu exhibited...

In order to examine the effect of salinity on Cu accumulation from a naturally incorporated diet, oysters (Crassostrea virginica) were exposed in sea water for 96 days to four waterborne [Cu]: 2.9+/-0.7 (control), 4.3+/-0.6, 5.4+/-0.5, and 10.7+/-1.0 microg L(-1). After 96 days, the control whole body [Cu] increased from 2.1+/-0.5 to 9.1+/-1.1 microg g(-1) w.w. and the highest [Cu] was 163.4+/-...