Derivates of Keratine GODDART & MICHAELIS
Derivates of Keratine GODDART & MICHAELIS
Derivates of Keratine GODDART & MICHAELIS
(From
OF KERATIN
BY DAVID R. GODDARD*
AND
the Laboratories
of The Rockefeller
New
LEONOR
Institute
MICHAELIS
for
Medical
Research,
York)
July 5, 1935)
A-SH
+ R-X
--+ A-S-R
+ HX
Sciences.
In an earlier paper the authors (1) expressed the view that keratins are fibrous proteins whose characteristic properties are essentially determined by the S-S groups of cystine which act as very
firmly established cross links uniting the elementary fibers of polypeptide chains. This view was based on the action of certain
alkaline reductants which could be shown to reduce disulfides and
convert keratin into an amorphous protein soluble in weak alkalies,
digestible by true proteases, and in which the sulfur is in the sulfhydryl state. The important r81eof the disulfide bond had already
been emphasized by Speakman and Huist (2) and A&bury (3) on
the basis of their chemical and physical studies, including x-ray
diffraction patterns of keratins.
Since keratins have a very high percentage of disulfide sulfur
(10 to 15 per cent cystine) and may readily be reduced to sulfhydryl proteins by alkaline thioglycolate, we realized that this
reduced protein might be a useful material for study as an example
of a sulfhydryl protein. We were particularly interested in studying the properties of derived proteins formed by substitution in
the sulfhydryl group by reaction with organic halogen compounds
according to the following scheme.
362
Derivatives
of Keratin
the sulfhydryl groups of the protein of reduced wool keratin, without substituting amino groups.
The proteins studied are the sulfhydryl protein obtained by the
alkaline thioglycolate reduction of wool, this protein after it has
been reoxidized to the disulfide form, and the substituted proteins
formed by reaction of the sulfhydryl protein with iodoacetic acid,
iodoacetamide, iodoethyl alcohol, and cu-bromopropionic acid, at
mildly alkaline reaction.
The disulfide protein may be formed by
reoxidation of the sulfhydryl protein at neutral reaction by the air
or ferricyanide.
As to the nomenclature of these proteins, we may
designate the reduced keratin as kerateine, and the reoxidized,
amorphous kerateine as metakeratin.
By reaction of kerateine
with iodoacetate we obtained a carboxymethylkerateine;
with
cu-bromopropionic acid, cY-carboxyethylkerateine;
with iodoethyl
alcohol, hydroxyethylkerateine;
with iodoacetamide,
carbamylmethylkerateine.
None of the derived keratins has been obtained in a strictly pure
state, nor may they be considered as chemical entities.
It is
not even likely that the keratin of a single hair is a homogeneous
chemical substance. Furthermore,
it should be borne in mind
that the reduction of the disulfide group by thioglycolate
is a
reversible reaction, and its completeness depends on the excess of
the reductant applied, and that the reaction with the halogen compounds can proceed only to that extent to which the S-S group has
been previously reduced. In the preparation of a substituted
protein the non-reduced, non-substituted
residue can be determined as cystine by applying the Folin-Marenzi
method to the
hpdrolysate.
The substituted sulfur does not react in this method.
The analytical data for these proteins and wool are presented
in Table I. It will be seen that the S and N are similar to the
values of wool, and secondly, that nearly all the cystine has been
reduced and substituted.
Proceeding to the isoelectric points and solubilities of these
derived proteins, it should be interesting to compare native wool
with the derived proteins in this respect. There is no agreement
as to the isoelectric point of native wool. Elijd and Silva (7), from
swelling experiments and changes in the pH of solutions in which
wool was allowed to come to equilibrium,
determined the isoelectric point to be 4.9. This is in agreement with the recent result
3.31
Carboxymethylkerateine, unfractionatedt
Carboxymethylkerateine, Fraction A
Carboxymethylkerateine, Fraction B
Carboxymethylkerateinet
Carbamylmethylkerateine
a-carboxyethylkerateine
12.2, 12.1
16.50
16.54
0.75
0.36
17.35 D 2.74
2.40
1.35
2.66
15.34
15.50
15.30
0.46
1.73
15.90
0.71
0.26
0.97
14.95
0.21
0.38
3.25
3.24
3.12
( 2ystine
N
3.3-3.6
0.80, 0.76
0.76
3.e3.3
0.50
4.54.9
3.1-3.7
5.0-5.3
3.74.3
3.8-4.3
4.5-4.7
4.6-4.9
4.9(?)
Solubifity
in M NaOH or HCl
Points)
Insoluble
of Isoelechc
kmelectric
point
Column
0.81,0.78
0.81,0.79
Amino
I
Cent, Except
TABLE
0.80
(Per
16.32
1.42
12.2*
Cystine
16.50
11.6
16.29
1rotal
Derivatives
* Total cystine = 12.2; of this 88 per cent was in the form of cysteine.
t This was not the preparation from which Fractions A and B were prepared.
$ This preparation was allowed to react with iodoacetate for 40 hours at pH 9.0 to 9.5.
sulfur.
$ The increased N content is due to the amide N of iodoacetamide.
Hydroxyethylkerateine
3.33
3.29
4.50
4.55
2.00
2.00
2.78
2.34
2.12
2.15
2.17
2.73
2.76
2.77
3.37
Metakeratin
Kerateine
3.35
3.33
3.34
Native wool
of Keratin
jr0td s
Analysis
-
St
K;
K
e
El;
.F
&
is&
P
K
F
0
364
Derivatives
of Keratin
of Dumanski
and Dumanski
(8) of 4.9 obtained by deflections of
wool fibers in an electrical field. Speakman (2) denies that wool
has any distinct isoelectric point and acknowledges
only a wide
isoelectric zone of 5.0 to 7.0. Harris (9) has determined the isoelectric point of wool as 3.4 by cataphoresis
of wool particles.
This disagreement makes the comparison with the derived proteins
difficult.
In these derived proteins there is no difficulty in determining the isoelectric point with the flocculation method (10).
Kerateine and metakeratin
prepared from wool have isoelectric
points in the region 4.6 to 4.7. Carboxymethylkerateine
and
a-carboxyethylkerateine
have much lower isoelectric points, as
would be expected from introduction
of the carboxyl groups.
Carbamylmethylkerateine
has a slightly higher isoelectric point,
while hydroxyethylkerateine
has the same isoelectric point as
kerateine.
The change in isoelectric points and solubilities
of
these derived proteins are what would be expected from the chemical nature of the substituted
groups.
A comparison of the solubilities of these compounds shows the
following features.
Wool is insoluble in all acids and bases except
in so far as it is hydrolyzed.
Wool dissolves readily in alkaline
solutions of NaCN, Na&, and thioglycolate
(l), but in all these
Metakeratin
cases the fibrous pattern is irreversibly
destroyed.
and kerateine of wool are dissolved readily in weak (0.1 M) NaOH,
Na2C03, and NH,OH.
They are insoluble in sodium acetate,
water, and neutral salts, and slightly soluble in dilute HCl.
Stable
neutral solutions containing several gm. of metakeratin
in 100 cc.
may be obtained by dialyzing the alkaline solution.
These solutions are precipitated by traces of acetic or other acids, and once
precipitated are as difficulty soluble as the undialyzed metakeratin.
Carboxymethylkerateine
and carboxyethylkerateine
are very
readily soluble not only in solutions of NaHC03 and dilute HCl,
but even in a solution of sodium acetate.
Carbamylmethylkerateine has the same solubility in alkalies as kerateine, but is much
more soluble in dilut,e HCI than is kerateine.
The solubility of
hydroxyethylkerateinc
is similar to kerateine.
Determinations
of free amino N of some of our preparations were
performed by the method of Van Slyke (11) in.the constant volume
apparatus.
The main purpose of this analysis was to show
whether under the conditions of our work a substitution
of the H
D. R. Goddard
and L. Michaelis
365
Derivatives
of Keratin
EXPERIMENTAL
The Parent
Protein-For
the preparation
of the substituted
proteins a single batch of wool protein, essentially metakeratin
still containing some unoxidized kerateine, was used. This protein is spoken of as the parent
protein.
It was prepared essentially as described by Goddard and Michaelis (1).
100 gm. of
defatted but otherwise
native, untreated wool are dissolved by
mechanical shaking in 2 liters of 0.5 M disodium thioglycolate
(if
367
of the Folin-Marenzi
method,
368
Derivatives
of Keratin
D. R. Goddard
and L. Michaelis
369
370
Derivatives
of Keratin
SUMMARY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
of Elek and Hill (IS), and for cystine by the Folin and Marenzi (19)
procedure, with a Zeiss-P&rich
photometer.
If the protein
contained both cystine and cysteine the acid hydrolysates were
oxidized with 3 per cent HzOz, and then the excess H202 was
removed by the sulfite used in the cystine reduction.
Cysteine
was analyzed for by the iodoacetate method of Mirsky and Anson
(4). Amino nitrogen was determined by the method of Van
Slyke (11) in the constant volume apparatus.
The proteins were
dissolved by grinding in a mortar with 10 cc. of 0.1 M NaOH and
diluted to 50 cc. 5 cc. of solution containing 20 mg. of protein
were used for analysis; the nitrite and protein were added prior
to the addition of the acid. The time of reaction with nitrous
acid was 30 minutes.
D. R. Goddard
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
and L. Michaelis
371
DERIVATIVES OF KERATIN
David R. Goddard and Leonor Michaelis
J. Biol. Chem. 1935, 112:361-371.
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