Dietary cysteine regulates the levels of mRNAs encoding a family of cysteine-rich proteins of wool

The abomasal or intravenous infusion of sulphur-containing amino acids such as cysteine or methionine into sheep on low-quality diets increases the sulphur content of the wool by increasing the synthesis of proteins containing a cysteine content of ∼ 30 mol %. To investigate the molecular and cellular basis of this nutritional effect, quantitative analyses of wool keratin mRNA and protein levels, and follicle cortical cell type, were undertaken in sheep intravenously infused with cysteine. Northern blot analyses revealed that the mRNA levels of one gene family encoding cysteine-rich keratin-associated proteins (KAP4 family) expressed in the wool follicle cortex, increased ∼ 5-6 times. Furthermore, the response was rapid as the mRNA levels increased ∼ 3.5 times after 1 d of the cysteine infusion and, by 1 d post-infusion, they had fallen, approaching their basal level. No changes in the mRNA levels encoding the intermediate filament or the other keratin-associated protein families of lower cysteine content were observed. Concomitantly, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of wool proteins showed a striking increase in the abundance of a group of cysteine-rich keratin-associated proteins in the wool by the end of the infusion period, returning to basal levels by 3 weeks later. At the cellular level, KAP4 expression was localized to the follicle paracortical cells, and the proportion of paracortical cells and the extent of KAP4 expression paralleled the changes in the cysteine infusion status of the sheep.