protamine n : a simple protein found in fish sperm; rich in arginine; simpler in composition than globulin or albumin; counteracts the anticoagulant effect of heparin

English

Noun

1. any of a class of proteins, rich in arginine, found in the sperm of fish; used medicinally to control the action of insulin

Protamines are small, arginine-rich, nuclear proteins that replace histones late in the haploid phase of spermatogenesis and are believed essential for sperm head condensation and DNA stabilization.

Function

When mixed with insulin, protamines slow down the onset and increase the duration of insulin action (see NPH insulin).

Protamine sulfate is an antidote for heparin.

Examples

Mice, humans, and certain fish have 2 or more different protamines, whereas the sperm of bull, boar, rat, rabbit, guinea pig, and ram have one form of protamine.

Human

The 2 human protamines are denoted and .

Fish

Examples of protamines from fish are:

• salmine from salmon
• clupeine from herring sperm (Clupea)
• iridine from rainbow trout
• thinnine from tunafish (Thunnus)
• stelline from starry sturgeon (Acipenser stellatus)
• scylliorhinine from dogfish (Scylliorhinus)

References

External links