Metallothionein expression in zinc-treated cartilage precursor ATDC5 cells

• Published in: Biomedical Research on Trace Elements Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. 23 - 29
• Main Authors: Tamura, Yukihiko, Fuangtharnthip, Pornpoj, Uehara, Tomoki, Iwamoto, Tsutomu, Waki, Yoshihiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Osaka Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements 2021; 日本微量元素学会; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: ATDC5; Cadmium; Cartilage; Cell differentiation; Cell viability; Chondrocytes; Chondrogenesis; Heavy metals; L-Lactate dehydrogenase; Lactate dehydrogenase; Lactic acid; Mercury; Metal ions; Metallothionein; Polymerase chain reaction; Precursors; Reverse transcription; Toxicity; Zinc
• ISSN: 0916-717X; 1880-1404
• DOI: 10.11299/brte.32.23

Metallothionein (MT) is a metalloprotein that has high affinity for heavy metal ions such as cadmium (Cd), copper, and mercury. We investigated the induction of MT expression by zinc (Zn) treatment of the cartilage precursor ATDC5 cell line using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. Cell viability and toxicity were examined by a WST-8 assay and lactate dehydrogenase assay, respectively. Zn treatment induced the expression of MT, which involved the differentiation of the ATDC5 cell line into chondrocytes. Treatment of ATDC5 cells with Cd caused a significant reduction in cell viability. However, following Zn pretreatment, there was no decrease in cell viability or differentiation on Cd treatment. Our study indicates that the induction of MT expression by Zn in cartilage precursor cells reduced Cd-associated cell toxicity.