An Ultrastructural Autoradiographic Study of the Incorporation of [35S]Cystine in the Wool Fibre Cortex

Abstract

Previous autoradiographic and chemical studies gave incompatible results as regards the incorporation of cystine into and cystine content of the 2 cortical segments of the wool fibre. In this study the incorporation of [35S]cystine into the wool fibre cortex was therefore re-examined by electron-microscope autoradiography. Skin samples were taken from a Merino sheep 1 h and 5 h after intradermal injections of L-[35S]cystine. At both times there was very little incorporation of 35S in the follicle bulbs. By 5 h incorporation occurred distally from the suprabulbar region throughout the zone of macrofibril (filament bundle) formation. More 35S was incorporated per unit area in the paracortex than in the orthocortex, and at the level of maximal uptake near the middle of this zone there was about a 2-fold difference per unit area. However, when the relative cross-sectional areas of the cortical segments were also considered, the actual amount of 35S incorporated at this level was slightly greater in the orthocortex than in the paracortex. These differences in the incorporation of [35S]cystine by the cortical segments agreed with previous results from chemical studies on cortical fractions separated from wool.