Dynamics and Multiple Molecular Imaging of Bio-trace Elements

Metallomics is a new area of study in Omics for the purpose of ubiquitously understanding the function and role of a trace element in biological activity. Trace elements are included in the proteins or enzymes concerned with gene expression, signal transduction, and various kinds of metabolic responses; they also gives us a new fact to understand biological phenomenon. Moreover, a new analytical technique is very important because any Metallomics study requires an analysis of the chemical species or the distribution at the simultaneous multielement analysis, and identification of trace elements from a very small amount of biological samples. In this report, we introduce outlines about the relationship between trace-element studies and the onset of the disease from the viewpoint of the protein function and metabolism abnormality of bio trace elements including iron, copper and zinc, which are representative elements in trace-element studies. Finally, we describe analytical studies of bio-metal distributions in diabetic mice by using multitracer and the multiple molecular imaging system, “GREI”, as an example of Metallomics research analyzed by biometal imaging.