Objective: To study the influence on the synthesis of metallothionein (MT) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), oxidized low-density lipoproteins (oxLDL) and ZnCl2 in rat myocardial fibroblasts.
Methods: The content of MT was measured by 109Cd-Hb saturation method and RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of MT mRNA.
Results: All of the stimulus in this experiment increased the synthesis of MT in myocardial fibroblasts. Compared with control, 1 and 5 mg.L-1 LPS increased the content of MT by 94% and 130% (P < 0.01), 0.2 and 1.0 mg.L-1 bFGF by 41% and 59% (P < 0.01), 2 and 10 mg.L-1 oxLDL by 23% (P < 0.05) and 41% (P < 0.01) respectively. 1,2 and 5 mg.L-1 ZnCl2 increased the content of MT by 66%, 99% and 149% (P < 0.01) in a concentration-dependent manner. 2-8 mg.L-1 ZnCl2 increased the content of MT1 mRNA by 69%-129%, MT2 mRNA by 31%-60% (P < 0.01). But 10 mg.L-1 ZnCl2 didn't stimulate the synthesis of MT more significantly, probably because ZnCl2 of high concentration damaged myocardial fibroblasts and decreased the survival rate of the cells.
Conclusion: Many stimulus such as LPS, bFGF, oxLDL and ZnCl2 can induce the synthesis of MT, and ZnCl2 can increase the expression of MT mRNA in rat myocardial fibroblasts.