Publications

Melenbacher, A.; Korkola, N. C.; Stillman, M. J. The Pathways and Domain Specificity of Cu(i) Binding to Human Metallothionein 1A. Metallomics 2020.

Copper is an essential element, but as a result of numerous adverse reactions, it is also a cellular toxin. Nature protects itself from these toxic reactions by binding cuprous copper to chaperones and other metalloproteins. Metallothionein has been proposed as a storage location for Cu(I) and potentially as the donor of Cu(I) to copper-dependent enzymes. We report that the addition of Cu(I) to apo recombinant human metallothionein 1a cooperatively forms a sequential series of Cu(I)–cysteinyl thiolate complexes that have specific Cu(I) : MT stoichiometries of 6 : 1, 10 : 1, and finally 13 : 1. The individual domain Cu... Read more

Wong, D.L.; Yuan, A.T.; Korkola, N.C.; Stillman, M.J. Interplay between Carbonic Anhydrases and Metallothioneins: Structural Control of Metalation. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 5697.

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) and metallothioneins (MTs) are both families of zinc metalloproteins central to life, however, they coordinate and interact with their Zn2+ ion cofactors in completely different ways. CAs and MTs are highly sensitive to the cellular environment and play key roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis. In addition, CAs and MTs have multiple isoforms with differentiated regulation. This review discusses current literature regarding these two families of metalloproteins in carcinogenesis, with a dialogue on... Read more

Daisy L. Wong, Martin J. Stillman
Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering, 1 2020.

Abstract: Since their discovery in 1957, metallothioneins (MTs) are now known to be involved in a variety of biochemical pathways. These include metal regulation and metabolism of metals both toxic and beneficial. Often, MTs expressed in select species are used as biomarkers for heavy trace elements in the environment, as they are easily accumulated by MTs. MTs are also believed to mitigate reactive oxygen species damage and protect against neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, with the popularity of metal-based therapeutics, MT's metal detoxification properties have become... Read more

Korkola, N. C., Scarrow, P. M., & Stillman, M. J. (2020). pH dependence of the non-cooperative binding of Bi 3+ to human apo-metallothionein 1A: kinetics, speciation, and stoichiometry. Metallomics, 12(3), 435-448.

Abstract: Bismuth is a well-known therapeutic agent that is used primarily for treatment against peptic ulcers. It has also had success in protecting against nephrotoxicity caused by the anticancer compound cisplatin by inducing... Read more

Yuan, A. T., Korkola, N. C., Wong, D. L., & Stillman, M. J. (2020). Metallothionein Cd 4 S 11 cluster formation dominates in the protection of carbonic anhydrase. Metallomics.

Abstract: Metallothioneins (MTs) are ubiquitous proteins vital for essential metal homeostasis and heavy metal detoxification. The twenty-cysteinyl mammalian metallothioneins protect the proteome by sequestering heavy metals... Read more

Dhindsa, J. S., Melenbacher, A., Barbon, S. M., Stillman, M. J., & Gilroy, J. B. (2020). Altering the optoelectronic properties of boron difluoride formazanate dyes via conjugation with platinum (ii)-acetylides. Dalton Transactions.

Abstract: The combination of π-conjugated organic compounds and Pt(II)-acetylides is a powerful strategy for the production of functional optoelectronic materials... Read more

Melenbacher, A., Dhindsa, J. S., Gilroy, J. B., & Stillman, M. J. (2019). Unveiling the Hidden, Dark, and Short Life of a Vibronic State in a Boron Difluoride Formazanate Dye. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 58(43), 15339-15343.

Abstract: Boron difluoride (BF2) formazanate dyes are contenders for molecular species that exhibit a large Stokes shift and bright red emission. Excitation of 3‐cyanoformazanate complexes with 10 μs wide pulses of... Read more

Verstraete, M. M., Morales, L. D., Kobylarz, M. J., Loutet, S. A., Laakso, H. A., Pinter, T. B., ... & Murphy, M. E. (2019). The heme-sensitive regulator SbnI has a bifunctional role in staphyloferrin B production by Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 294(30), 11622-11636.

Abstract: Staphylococcus aureus infection relies on iron acquisition from its host. S. aureus takes up iron through heme uptake by the iron-responsive surface determinant (Isd) system and by the production of iron-scavenging siderophores. Staphyloferrin B (SB) is a siderophore produced by the 9-gene sbn gene cluster for SB biosynthesis and efflux... Read more

Polgar, A. M., Zhang, A., Mack, F., Weigend, F., Lebedkin, S., Stillman, M. J., & Corrigan, J. F. (2019). Tuning the Metal/Chalcogen Composition in Copper (I)–Chalcogenide Clusters with Cyclic (Alkyl)(amino) carbene Ligands. Inorganic chemistry, 58(5), 3338-3348.

Abstract: A series of phosphorescent homo- and heterometallic copper(I)–chalcogenide clusters stabilized by cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene ligands [Cu4M4(μ3-E)4(CAACCy)4] (M = Cu, Ag, Au; E = S, Se) has been synthesized by the reaction of the new copper(I) trimethylsilylchalcogenolate... Read more

Knott, M. G., de la Mare, J. A., Edkins, A. L., Zhang, A., Stillman, M. J., Bolton, J. J., ... & Beukes, D. R. (2019). Plaxenone A and B: Cytotoxic halogenated monoterpenes from the South African red seaweed Plocamium maxillosum. Phytochemistry letters, 29, 182-185.

Abstract: The endemic South African red seaweed Plocamium maxillosum (Poiret) Lamouroux produces two unusual isomeric dichlorinated cyclohexenone monoterpenes, plaxenone A and B (1 and 2). The structures of the isolated... Read more

Ott, D. B., Hartwig, A., & Stillman, M. J. (2019). Competition between Al 3+ and Fe 3+ binding to human transferrin and toxicological implications: structural investigations using ultra-high resolution ESI MS and CD spectroscopy. Metallomics, 11(5), 968-981.

Abstract: Human serum transferrin (hTF) is an iron binding protein with the primary task of ensuring well-controlled transport of Fe3+-ions in the bloodstream. Furthermore, hTF has been identified as a key component in the trafficking... Read more

Wong, D. L., Korkola, N. C., & Stillman, M. J. (2019). Kinetics of competitive Cd 2+ binding pathways: the realistic structure of intrinsically disordered, partially metallated metallothioneins. Metallomics, 11(5), 894-905.

Abstract:  The 20-cysteine mammalian metallothioneins are considered to be central to the homeostatic control of the essential metals Zn(II) and Cu(I) and, as part of their metal-loaded status, play a role in reversing oxidative... Read more