"August 2002" / Bibliography: leaves 141-176. / ix, 179 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Changes in maternal-foetal zinc homeostasis resulting in a foetal deficiency may be an important contributing factor in ethanol-realted teratogenicity. Ethanol induces expression of hepatic metallothionein, causing zinc transfer from the plasma to the liver. Rodent studies show that changes in plasma zinc correlate with a high incidence of abnormal fetuses in MT+/+ mice. Demonstrates a clear link between maternal hepatic MT induction, decreased foetal zinc supply, and teratogenicity, which has major implications for binge alcohol consumption in early pregnancy. The demonstration that zinc treatment is effective in preventing teratogenicity indicates potential treatment strategies. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physiology, 2003

Cheuk, Wai Ka. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-108). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgements --- p.v / Table of contents --- p.vi / List of Tables --- p.ix / List of Figures --- p.x / Abbreviations --- p.xii / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- General introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Metal Contaminations in the environment --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Biology of Heavy Metal Ions --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Essential and non-essential metal ions --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Toxicities and origins of heavy metal ions --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- Monitoring Of Heavy Metal Contaminations In Aquatic Environment --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Monitoring in chemical approach --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Monitoring in biological approach: biomarkers --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4 --- Metallothionein (MT) --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Biological functions of MT and its regulation --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- MT isoforms --- p.14 / Chapter 1.4.3 --- Mechanisms of MT gene regulation --- p.15 / Chapter 1.4.3.1 --- Zinc pool hypothesis --- p.20 / Chapter 1.4.3.2 --- Protein kinase cascade --- p.21 / Chapter 1.5 --- Metal responsive element (MRE) --- p.22 / Chapter 1.6 --- MRE-Binding Transcription Factor-1 (MTF-1) --- p.30 / Chapter 1.6.1 --- Structure of MTF-1 --- p.30 / Chapter 1.6.2 --- Physiological functions of MTF-1 --- p.32 / Chapter 1.6.3 --- The role of MTF-1 in MT gene regulation --- p.33 / Chapter 1.6.4 --- Regulation of MTF-1 by various heavy metals --- p.34 / Chapter 1.7 --- Zebrafish (Daino reio) --- p.36 / Chapter 1.8 --- Project aim --- p.37 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- Materials and Methods / Chapter 2.1 --- Cell Culture --- p.40 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- ZFL cell line --- p.40 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- SJD cell line --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2 --- Alarmar blue̐ưؤ M assay --- p.41 / Chapter 2.3 --- First strand cDNA synthesis --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Metal treatment of the SJD and ZFL cell lines --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Isolation of total RNA --- p.43 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Quantification of mRNA by spectrophotometer --- p.43 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Reverse Transcription --- p.44 / Chapter 2.4 --- Quantifications of mRNA levels by using real-time PCR technique --- p.44 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Primer design --- p.44 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- PCR components and cycling condition --- p.45 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Determination of relative amount of target gene present in the samples --- p.49 / Chapter 2.5 --- Cloning of zMT-II gene promoter and its transient expression studies --- p.50 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Purification of genomic DNA --- p.50 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Preparation of Escherichia coli competent cell --- p.51 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- PCR-Cloning of a 1.4 kb zMT-II gene promoter --- p.51 / Chapter 2.5.4 --- Purification of plasmid DNA --- p.53 / Chapter 2.5.5 --- Transient transfection of plasmid into SJD and ZFL cells --- p.54 / Chapter 2.5.6 --- Heavy metal treatments and measurement of luciferase activities --- p.54 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- Results / Chapter 3.1 --- Toxicities of various heavy metal ions --- p.56 / Chapter 3.2 --- Relative mRNA fold induction of zMT in SJD and ZFL cell lines --- p.59 / Chapter 3.3 --- The zMT-II gene and its induction by metal ions in zebrafish cell-lines --- p.63 / Chapter 3.4 --- MTF-1 mRNA levels in SJD and ZFL cell lines exposed to heavy metal ions --- p.74 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- Discussion / Chapter 4.1 --- Comparison of metal toxicities in the two cell lines studied --- p.78 / Chapter 4.2 --- zMT gene expression study --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- zMT mRNA regulation by heavy metal ions in the two cell lines --- p.80 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- The potential use of MT regulation as exposure biomarker --- p.82 / Chapter 4.3 --- Structure of the zMT-II gene promoter region --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4 --- Metal responsiveness of zMT-II promoter --- p.84 / Chapter 4.5 --- Mechanism of MT gene expression and the MTF-1 mRNA inductions in SJD and ZFL cell lines --- p.86 / Chapter 4.6 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.93 / References --- p.96