Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1970 Dec 1;47(3):593–603. doi: 10.1083/jcb.47.3.593

THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF KERATOHYALIN GRANULES OF THE EPIDERMIS

A Gedeon Matoltsy 1, Margit N Matoltsy 1
PMCID: PMC2108161  PMID: 5497541

Abstract

Keratohyalin granules were isolated in the native form from the epidermis of newborn rats by the use of citric acid and a detergent. The isolated granules revealed a fine granular substructure in the electron microscope similar to that seen in situ. Analyses of amino acids by automated column-chromatography showed that proline and cystine are present in large proportions whereas histidine is present in a small amount. Accordingly, it was concluded that keratohyalin represents a sulfur-rich amorphous precursor of the horny cell content, rather than a sulfur-poor side product of the keratinization process, or a unique histidine-rich protein as proposed by in situ histochemical and radioautographic studies.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1,015.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BARRNETT R. J., SELIGMAN A. M. Histochemical demonstration of protein-bound sulfhydryl groups. Science. 1952 Sep 26;116(3013):323–327. doi: 10.1126/science.116.3013.323. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BRAUN-FALCO O. The histochemistry of psoriasis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1958 Nov 10;73(5):936–976. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1959.tb40870.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bonneville M. A. Observations on epidermal differentiation in the fetal rat. Am J Anat. 1968 Jul;123(1):147–164. doi: 10.1002/aja.1001230107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cox A. J., Reaven E. P. Histidine and keratohyalin granules. J Invest Dermatol. 1967 Jul;49(1):31–34. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fukuyama K., Epstein W. L. Epidermal keratinization: localization of isotopically labeled amino acids. J Invest Dermatol. 1966 Dec;47(6):551–560. doi: 10.1038/jid.1966.184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fukuyama K., Epstein W. L. Sulfur-containing proteins and epidermal keratinization. J Cell Biol. 1969 Mar;40(3):830–838. doi: 10.1083/jcb.40.3.830. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fukuyama K., Epstein W. L. Ultrastructural autoradiographic studies of keratohyalin granule formation. J Invest Dermatol. 1967 Dec;49(6):595–604. doi: 10.1038/jid.1967.186. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Fukuyama K., Nakamura T., Benstein I. A. Differentially localized incorporation of amino acids in relation to epidermal keratinization in the newborn rat. Anat Rec. 1965 Aug;152(4):525–535. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091520412. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gumucio J., Feldkamp C., Bernstein I. A. Studies on localization of "histidine-rich" peptide material present in epidermis of the newborn rat. J Invest Dermatol. 1967 Dec;49(6):545–551. doi: 10.1038/jid.1967.178. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hoober J. K., Bernstein I. A. Protein synthesis related to epidermal differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 Aug;56(2):594–601. doi: 10.1073/pnas.56.2.594. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. LANDING B. H., HALL H. E., WEST C. D. Aldehyde-fuchsin-positive material of the posterior pituitary; its nature and significance. Lab Invest. 1956 May-Jun;5(3):256–266. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lavker R. M., Matoltsy A. G. Formation of horny cells: the fate of cell organelles and differentiation products in ruminal epithelium. J Cell Biol. 1970 Mar;44(3):501–512. doi: 10.1083/jcb.44.3.501. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. MATOLTSY A. G., MATOLTSY M. A study of morphological and chemical properties of keratohyalin granules. J Invest Dermatol. 1962 Apr;38:237–247. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Matoltsy A. G., Matoltsy M. N. The membrane protein of horny cells. J Invest Dermatol. 1966 Jan;46(1):127–129. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Nagy-Vezekényi C. On the histidine content of human epidermis. Br J Dermatol. 1969 Sep;81(9):685–691. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1969.tb16209.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Reaven E. P., Cox A. J. Histidine and keratinization. J Invest Dermatol. 1965 Dec;45(6):422–431. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. SZODORAY L., NAGY VEZEKENYI C. HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF KERATOHYALIN IN HUMAN EPIDERMIS. J Invest Dermatol. 1964 Jan;42:157–159. doi: 10.1038/jid.1964.30. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ugel A. R. Keratohyalin: extraction and in vitro aggregation. Science. 1969 Oct 10;166(3902):250–251. doi: 10.1126/science.166.3902.250. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Voorhees J. J., Chakrabarti S. G., Bernstein I. A. The metabolism of "histidine-rich" protein in normal and psoriatic keratinization. J Invest Dermatol. 1968 Nov;51(5):344–354. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES