Regulation of zinc homeostasis by inducible NO synthase-derived NO: nuclear metallothionein translocation and intranuclear Zn2+ release.

ABSTRACT: Zn2+ is critical for the functional and structural integrity of cells and contributes to a number of important processes including gene expression. It has been shown that NO exogenously applied via NO donors resulting in nitrosative stress leads to cytoplasmic Zn2+ release from the zinc storing protein metallothionein (MT) and probably other proteins that complex Zn2+ via cysteine thiols. We show here that, in cytokine-activated murine aortic endothelial cells, NO derived from the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) induces a transient nuclear release of Zn2+. This nuclear Zn2+ release depends on the presence of MT as shown by the lack of this effect in activated endothelial cells from MT-deficient mice and temporally correlates with nuclear MT translocation. Data also show that NO is an essentia

SUBMITTER: Spahl DU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC283527 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature