Metallothioneins and trace elements dyshomeostasis induced by exposure to gasoline vapor in mice

Abstract

To investigate the effects of air pollution related with the gasoline/petrochemical industry the expression of metallothionein I (MT-I) mRNA and tissue metals were analyzed in organs of mice, exposed to gasoline (G) vapor in laboratory conditions. Control groups consisted of intact mice and of those exposed in the metabolic chamber to fresh air. The data obtained by RT-PCR and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry have shown that exposure to G vapor leads to upregulation of MT-I mRNA in organs that receive a strong respiratory and olfactory input or participate in gasoline degradation and elimination (lungs, brain, kidney and liver). Besides, in the brain and in the lungs, kidney and liver a decreased tissue content of Zn2+ or Cu2+ and Mg2+ was found (p<0.001). Some of these changes were obtained also in mice closed in the metabolic chamber, pointing to the involvement of stress-induced mechanisms in the transcriptional regulation of MTs