Enhanced transcription of metallothionein genes in rat kidney: effect of uninephrectomy and compensatory renal growth.

Metallothioneins (MTs) have been implicated in the intracellular regulation of essential metals in eukaryotic cells, and increased expression of MT genes has been demonstrated during the growth and proliferation of cells. To explore the expression of MT in somatic cells undergoing growth (hypertrophy) in the kidney in situ, we measured the rates of transcription of the genes for MT-1 and MT-2, measured the levels of mRNA for MT-1 and MT-2, and measured the concentration of MT-1 and MT-2 protein in samples of renal (and hepatic) tissue from uninephrectomized (NPX) and sham-operated (SO) rats 15 days after surgery. The rates of transcription of the genes for MT-1 and MT-2 were found to be enhanced significantly in the remnant renal mass, particularly in the cortex and outer stripe of the outer medulla, and in the liver, after uninephrectomy and after 15 days allowing for compensatory renal growth. Increased accumulation of mRNA for MT-1 and MT-2 also occurred in the cortex and outer stripe of the outer medulla of the remnant kidney and in the liver in the NPX rats. Increased concentration of MT-1 and MT-2 protein (measured by radioimmunoassay), at the level of the whole kidney, renal cortex, and liver, was another feature detected in rats after uninephrectomy and 15 days of compensatory renal growth. These findings indicate that compensatory renal growth in response to uninephrectomy is associated with the induction of the expression of MT genes in the renal cortex and outer stripe of the outer medulla, as well as in the liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)