The expression of three human metallothionein (hMT) genes has been compared in various established cell lines and primary liver. The single gene for hMT isoform II is ubiquitously expressed in all cell types in response to cadmium. In contrast, two genes encoding hMT-I isoforms are expressed in a highly specific, reciprocal fashion that correlates with the embryonic germ layer origin of the cells. In one cell line that failed to express detectable amounts of hMT-IE, treatment with the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine led to cadmium-inducible expression of this subtype. The genes for both MT-I isoforms are coordinately inducible by heavy metals but differ in their response to glucocorticoids. Surprisingly, cells transformed with the Ha-ras oncogene contain elevated basal levels of both MT-I and MT-II RNA. The implications of these results for growth-related and developmental functions of MT are discussed.