On the Mechanism of Incorporation of [35s]Cystine into Wool

Abstract

A comparison was made of the rate of incorporation of 358 into the plasma proteins and the wool of a sheep after an intravenous injection of DL.[358]cystine. The cystine of wool attained a much higher specific activity than that of the plasma proteins, suggesting that cystine is not incorporated into wool by any rocess involving a direct modification of the plasma proteins. It is also suggested that there is a metabolic "pool" of material containing cystine associated with the wool follicles themselves which is turned over with a half·time of about 3 days.