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Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins pp 1390–1400Cite as

Metallothioneins and Silver

  • Reference work entry

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Synonyms

Ag, MT

Definition

Silver has no known natural biological role and has a range of toxicity depending on the form of the metal and the organism involved (Wiley and Brooks 1992). Colloidal silver, which is toxic to microbes, has been used over many centuries as an antiseptic and disinfectant in wound dressings (Klasen 2000a, b). Even though elemental silver is not particularly toxic to humans, silver ions are highly toxic and are thought to be carcinogenic. No studies were found to report cancer in humans after exposure to silver or silver compounds, although subcutaneous imbedding of silver foil induced fibrosarcomas in rats (Oppenheimer et al. 1956).

Metallothioneins (MTs) bind metals in the monovalent group 11 triad (copper, silver, and gold) and in the divalent group 12 triad (zinc, cadmium, and mercury) both in vitro and in vivo (Schmitz et al. 1980; Sutherland and Stillman 2011). One of the proposed roles for MT is in toxic metal detoxification because MT is able to bind a...

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Acknowledgements

We thank NSERC of Canada for financial support of the research reported from our laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Kelly L. Summers & Dr. Martin J. Stillman

  2. Department of Chemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    Dr. Martin J. Stillman

Authors
  1. Kelly L. Summers
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  2. Dr. Martin J. Stillman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelly L. Summers .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Robert H. Kretsinger

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Vladimir N. Uversky

  3. Institute for Biological Instrumentation, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia

    Eugene A. Permyakov

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Summers, K.L., Stillman, M.J. (2013). Metallothioneins and Silver. In: Kretsinger, R.H., Uversky, V.N., Permyakov, E.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_528

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