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Is α-Keratin a Coiled Coil?

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Abstract

ALL recent work1–6 has confirmed that the structure of the synthetic polypeptide poly-γ-methyl-L-glutamate is based on the α-helix of Pauling and Corey7. This structure gives a strong 1.5-A. reflexion on the meridian, and both MacArthur8 and Perutz1 have shown that this reflexion also occurs in α-keratin. This suggests forcibly that the α-helix forms an important part of α-keratin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Research Council Unit for Research on the Molecular Structure of Biological Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge

    F. H. C. CRICK

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  1. F. H. C. CRICK
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CRICK, F. Is α-Keratin a Coiled Coil?. Nature 170, 882–883 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/170882b0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/170882b0

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