4.3 Article

The legless lizard Anguis fragilis (slow worm) has a potent metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF-1)

Journal

BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
Volume 395, Issue 4, Pages 425-431

Publisher

WALTER DE GRUYTER GMBH
DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2013-0293

Keywords

cadmium toxicity; longevity; metal homeostasis; metal regulatory transcription factor; nuclear export signal (NES); zinc-induced transcription

Funding

  1. Swiss National Science Foundation
  2. Kanton Zurich

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The metal-responsive transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) is a key regulator of heavy metal homeostasis and detoxification. Here we characterize the first MTF-1 from a reptile, the slow worm Anguis fragilis. The slow worm, or blind worm, is a legless lizard also known for its long lifespan of up to several decades. Anguis MTF-1 performs well and matches the strong zinc and cadmium response of its human ortholog, clearly surpassing the activity of rodent MTF-1s. Some amino acid positions critical for metal response are the same in humans and slow worm but not in rodent MTF-1. This points to a divergent evolution of rodent MTF-1, and we speculate that rodents can afford a less sophisticated metal handling than humans and (some) reptiles.

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