Background: This study was undertaken to gain further insights into the expression of metallothionein (MT) in kidney, to define the necessary dosage of a metal (zinc) to achieve induction of MT and to evaluate the antioxidative potential of MT in comparison to other more common antioxidative therapeutics, like N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), and endogenous molecules, like glutathione.
Methods: MT was measured in renal specimens from cadaver kidneys from patients with chronic diseases (n = 76) and controls (n = 21) by immunohistochemistry. In addition, induction experiments were performed in cell cultures of proximal tubular cells (LCC-PK1) and MT measured on the RNA and protein level (immunohistochemistry, Western and dot blotting).