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Metallothioneins are the metal-rich proteins that play important roles in metal homeostasis and detoxification. Moreover, these proteins protect cells against oxidative stress, inhibit proapoptotic mechanisms and enhance cell differentiation and survival. Furthermore, MTs, mainly MT-1/2 and MT-3, play a vital role in protecting the neuronal retinal...
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... This anti-inflammatory activity of thionin is because thionins can enhance the antioxidant defenses of cells, reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that contribute to inflammation. By mitigating oxidative stress, thionins help to prevent the activation of inflammatory pathways(Fernandes et al. 2023;Jamrozik et al. 2023). Also, ...
Antibiotic resistance poses a global health threat. It reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics against bacterial infections. Antimicrobial peptides, including thionins, offer a promising alternative due to their broad-spectrum activity and lower likelihood of resistance development.
This study focuses on the production of thionin from barley cell suspension cultures, induced with biotic and abiotic agents, and its evaluation for antibacterial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. Barley calli were initiated and subcultured in media containing various elicitors, such as Fusarium metabolites, polyethylene glycol, and nano-chitosan.
The combination of nano-chitosan and Fusarium metabolites yielded the highest thionin production and optimal growth. The purified thionin demonstrated strong antibacterial activity, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of approximately 1.2 µg/mL, surpassing that of ciprofloxacin. This activity is likely due to increased bacterial membrane permeability, indicated by a high electrolyte leakage rate of around 70%, and DNA disruption, evidenced by an 81% reduction in DNA content in thionin-treated bacteria. Additionally, thionin treatment inhibited nearly 100% of biofilm formation. In anticancer assays, thionin exhibited significant cytotoxicity against multiple cancer cell lines, with low IC50 values of 0.29 µg/mL against liver cancer cells and 0.17 µg/mL against colon cancer cells. The anticancer mechanism involved the induction of apoptosis markers, including increased nuclear intensity, membrane permeability, mitochondrial membrane permeability, and cytochrome c release. Importantly, thionin showed lower hemolytic activity compared to doxorubicin. Moreover, thionin displayed superior anti-inflammatory activity relative to aspirin.
These findings underscore the potential of barley-derived thionin as a versatile therapeutic agent against antibiotic-resistant infections, cancer, and inflammation.
... Metallothionein is a class of low-molecular-weight, cysteine-rich, high-metal-content proteins that was first discovered and isolated from equine kidneys by Margoshes and Valle in 1957 [1,2]. Metallothionein is widely distributed in nature and has been found in vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and microbes [3]. ...
Metallothionein is a cysteine-rich protein with a high metal content that is widely found in nature. In addition to heavy metal detoxification, metallothionein is well known as a potent antioxidant. The high sulfhydryl content of metallothionein confers excellent antioxidant activity, enabling it to effectively scavenge free radicals and mitigate oxidative stress damage. In addition, metallothionein can play a neuroprotective role by alleviating oxidative damage in nerve cells, have an anticancer effect by enhancing the ability of normal cells to resist unfavorable conditions through its antioxidant function, and reduce inflammation by scavenging reactive oxygen species. Due to its diverse biological functions, metallothionein has a broad potential for application in alleviating environmental heavy metal pollution, predicting and diagnosing diseases, and developing skin care products and health foods. This review summarizes the recent advances in the classification, structure, biological functions, and applications of metallothionein, focusing on its powerful antioxidant effects and related functions.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic disease, which often develops in older people, but this is not the rule. AMD pathogenesis changes include the anatomical and functional complex. As a result of damage, it occurs, in the retina and macula, among other areas. These changes may lead to partial or total loss of vision. This disease can occur in two clinical forms, i.e., dry (progression is slowly and gradually) and exudative (wet, progression is acute and severe), which usually started as dry form. A coexistence of both forms is possible. AMD etiology is not fully understood. Extensive genetic studies have shown that this disease is multifactorial and that genetic determinants, along with environmental and metabolic-functional factors, are important risk factors. This article reviews the impact of heavy metals, macro- and microelements, and genetic factors on the development of AMD. We present the current state of knowledge about the influence of environmental factors and genetic determinants on the progression of AMD in the confrontation with our own research conducted on the Polish population from Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Lubusz Regions. Our research is concentrated on showing how polluted environments of large agglomerations affects the development of AMD. In addition to confirming heavy metal accumulation, the growth of risk of acute phase factors and polymorphism in the genetic material in AMD development, it will also help in the detection of new markers of this disease. This will lead to a better understanding of the etiology of AMD and will help to establish prevention and early treatment.
