Prodn. of recombinant metallo-thionein proteins - and prodn. of apo-thionein proteins, and use as antiinflammatory agents

摘要

(A) Isolation of metallothioneins (I) or their fragments with a cysteine content above 5 mole% from pro- and eukaryotic cells is effected by induction, transcription of the corresp. metallothionein gene region, and translation. (B) Prodn. of apothioneins (II) is effected by treating (I) obtained as above with a chelating agent having a higher formation constant than (I). (C) Prodn. of (I) is effected by treating (II) prepd. as above, or prepd. by peptide synthesis or recombinant DNA techniques, with a transition metal, heavy metal or metalloid cpd. USE - (I) and (II) are metal-binding proteins useful in human and veterinary medicine for treating inflammatory disorders associated with the prodn. of active oxygen species, esp. rheumatic disorders, liver inflammation and skin lesions, and for modifying serum levels of biogenic and nonbiogenic metals.