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The Role Of Metallothionein In Zinc Homeostasis, Kelly L. Summers
The Role Of Metallothionein In Zinc Homeostasis, Kelly L. Summers
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The structure of the unique metal-binding protein, metallothionein (MT), consists of two metal-thiolate-clustered binding domains; the β-domain binds up to three divalent metals and the α-domain binds four. The mechanisms through which the metals are bound and arranged into domains, as well as the function of MT in metal ion homeostasis, remains largely unknown. By utilizing electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS) to identify each species, and by comparing the data with simulations, MT 1a was found to bind Zn2+ non-cooperatively. Through a competition experiment between MT and its individual domain peptides, MT was proposed to bind Zn2+ …