Protective effects of metallothionein I and II against metal- and ultraviolet radiation-induced damage in cultured lens epithelial cells.

PURPOSE: Few quantitative analyses of the induction of metallothioneins (MTs) have been conducted, and there are no reports on the contribution of MTs to the protective mechanism against ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the lens. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the induction of MTs and analyzed the resulting protective effects against both metal- and UV radiation-induced damage in the cultured lens epithelial cell line, alphaTN4-1.

METHODS

The induction profiles of MTs by ZnCl(2) treatment in alphaTN4-1 cells were analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The cells in which MTs were induced were either treated with high concentrations of ZnCl(2) or CdCl(2), or irradiated with UV-C, UV-B, or UV-A radiation, followed by analysis of cell viability. The (3)H-thymidine incorporation rate was used as an indicator of cell viability.

RESULTS

mRNA expression of MT-I and MT-II, the main MT isoform classes, was induced by ZnCl(2) treatment in a dose-dependent manner. MT induction increased the protective effects against both metaland UV-A radiation-induced cell damage.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that MTs play an important role in the protection against damage induced by both toxic metals and UV-A radiation in lens epithelial cells.