AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 264, Issue 5 E770-E775, Copyright © 1993 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Zinc metabolism and metallothionein expression in bone marrow during erythropoiesis

K. L. Huber and R. J. Cousins
Center for Nutritional Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611.

Zinc metabolism and metallothionein induction in rat bone marrow were investigated during induced erythropoiesis. Redistribution of body zinc was measured with 65Zn after acute blood loss in rats fed zinc-restricted or zinc-adequate diets. Uptake of 65Zn by bone marrow was related to time after blood loss, metallothionein induction, and dietary zinc status. Increased 65Zn uptake by marrow of zinc-restricted rats suggests a minimal amount of zinc is necessary to support expansion of the erythrocytic compartment. Zinc induction of marrow metallothionein also occurred in rats in which anemia was produced using phenylhydrazine. Anemic rats which were administered zinc had higher concentrations of marrow metallothionein compared with control rats. Induction of marrow metallothionein by zinc in nonanemic rats required prior treatment with erythropoietin. Percoll fractionation showed marrow metallothionein was most abundant in erythroblasts. These experiments suggest metallothionein synthesis occurs in erythropoietin-sensitive precursor cells in the marrow in response to increased zinc accessibility.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Cao and R. J. Cousins Metallothionein mRNA in Monocytes and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and in Cells from Dried Blood Spots Increases after Zinc Supplementation of Men J. Nutr., September 1, 2000; 130(9): 2180 - 2187. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				V. K. Sullivan, F. R. Burnett, and R. J. Cousins Metallothionein Expression Is Increased in Monocytes and Erythrocytes of Young Men during Zinc Supplementation J. Nutr., April 1, 1998; 128(4): 707 - 713. [Abstract] [Full Text]