Protamine

protamine

[′prōd·ə‚mēn]

(biochemistry)

Any of the simple proteins that are combined with nucleic acid in the sperm of certain fish, and that upon hydrolysis yield basic amino acids; used in medicine to control hemorrhage, and in the preparation of an insulin form to control diabetes.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Protamine

 

a protein of low molecular weight that occurs in the nuclei of spermatozoa in fish and birds. Its molecular weight ranges from 4,000 to 12,000.

The basic properties of protamines are determined by their characteristically high content of basic amino acids, especially arginine (70–80 percent). Protamines are readily soluble in water and in acid and neutral media. They are precipitated by alkalies and do not denature when heated. The protamines that have been studied are mainly those found in mature fish spermatozoa, where they constitute a fraction of the basic protein but nearly the entire nuclear protein. The amino-acid composition of protamines is specific for each species of fish.

In cell nuclei, protamines, like histones, are associated with deoxyribonucleic acids to form nucleoprotamines. X-ray diffraction analysis has shown that the protamine chain is the third strand coiled around the DNA double helix. Protamines form salts in the presence of acids and complexes with acid proteins; in medicine, the slightly soluble complex of protamine and insulin is used to prolong the effectiveness of the latter.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.