Roles of lead-binding proteins in mediating lead bioavailability

The intracellular bioavailability of lead (Pb) at low dosage levels in major target organs such as the kidney and brain appears to be largely determined by complexation with a group of low molecular weight proteins. These proteins are rich in aspartic and glutamic dicarboxyl amino acids. The proteins are chemically similar but not identical across all species examined to date and the brain protein appears to be different from that found in the kidney. These proteins possess dissociation constant values for Pb on the order of 10(-8) M and appear to normally bind zinc. In rats, these proteins attenuate the Pb inhibition of the heme pathway enzyme delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase by a mechanism involving both Pb chelation and zinc donation to this highly Pb-sensitive zinc-dependent enzyme. Other studies in rats have shown that the kidney protein facilitates the intranuclear movement of Pb in vitro followed by chromatin binding, suggesting that this protein may be involved in alterations of the pathognomonic Pb intranuclear inclusion bodies in renal gene expression associated with the mitogenic effects of Pb in the kidney.