Human hepatocuprein

The trace elements chromium, manganese, copper and zinc in fetal liver tissue

“…Metallothionein capacity is insufficient in patients with Wilson's disease where there is a disturbance in the copper utilisation for ceruloplasmin .synthesis is underdeveloped. In order to protect the organism from the effect of free copper ions an insoluble mitochondrial cuprein, is formed s an additional bindingprotein [10,35,36,37]. This has also been found in rats who were given toxic amounts of copper in their drinking water [33].…”

“…A major portion of the metal is bound to two specific proteins. One of these has been designated äs neonatal hepatic mitochondrocuprein, the other is metallothionein which is located in the cytosol [35,36,37,47]. It appears appropriate to assume a storage function of the fetal liver tissue for copper because the elevated copper concentrations decrease to adult levels within a few weeks after birth.…”

Micro‐nutrient elements—a recapitulation

“…Within the red cell some 60% of the copper is present as erythrocuprein, a protein which has been crystallized and contains some 0.38% of Cu-two atoms both &++--and has a molecular weight of 33,600 (Stansell & Deutsch, 1965). It is possible that a similar cerebrocuprein from brain and a hepatocuprein from liver, both from human tissues, may be identical with the erythroprotein from human erythrocytes (Porter, Sweeney & Porter, 1964). All have similar copper content, amino acid composition, molecular weight, absorption spectra and other physical characteristics.…”