The Proceedings of the Fourth International Metallothionein Meeting (MT-97) feature the latest research on metallothionein. The book covers a broad range of topics which provide important information for both basic and clinical investigators. The selected 94 articles in this book are written by the leading scientists in the field around the world. This is an increasingly important, multi-disciplinary area of study that has benefitted from recent advances in concepts and methodologies from other fields.Metallothionein nomenclature and structure.- Nomenclature of metallothionein: Proposal for a revision.- Metallothionein: Molecular evolution and classification.- Structural and biological studies on native bovine Cu,Zn-metallothionein-3.- Circular dichroism, emission, and exafs studies of Ag(I), Cd(II), Cu(I), and Hg(II) binding to metallothioneins and modeling the metal binding site.- Metallothionein structure update.- Simulation of Zn/Cd binding in mammalian metallothionein domains.- The growth inhibitory activity of metallothionein-3 correlates with its novel ? domain sequence rather than metal binding properties.- Recombinant synthesis and metal-binding abilities of mouse metallothionein 1 and its ?- and ?-domains.- Biochemical characterization of monomeric and dimeric cadmium-substituted metallothionein-3.- Chemical and analytical aspects of metallothionein.- Mammalian metallothionein sub-isoform separation by RP-HPLC with on-line UV and electrochemical detection.- Characterisation of mammalian Cd, Zn metallothioneins using differential pulse polarography.- Comparison of CZE and MECC separations of MT isoforms.- Synthetic peptides and domains of metallothionein for structure function studies: rabbit liver peptide MT-IIA 4961 and lobster MT ?N ?C and ?C?N domains.- Voltammetric methods in isolation and identification of plant metallothioneins from alga Chlorella.- Characterization of isometallothioneins in Chang liver cells and the transient accumulation of metalllsť