HISTONES. 



107 



1 Abderhalden, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 37 and 40. 



2 Abderhalden and Babkin, ibid., 47. 



3 Osborne and Clapp, Journ. of Biol. Chem., 3. ' 



4 Osborne and Clapp, Amer. Journ. of Physiol., 19. 



5 Kleinschmitt, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 54. 



6 Osborne and Clapp, Amer. Journ. of Physiol., 17. 



7 Abderhalden and Samuely, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 44, and Abderhalden, 

 Lehrbuch d. physiol. Chem., 1909. 



8 Osborne and Clapp, Amer. Journ. of Physiol., 19. 

 Kutscher, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 38. 



Coagulated .proteins also seem to occur in animal tissues. We find, 

 at least in many organs such as the liver and other glands, proteins 

 which are not soluble in water, dilute salt solutions, or very dilute alkalies, 

 and only dissolve after being modified by strong alkalies. 



Histones are basic proteins which stand to a certain extent between 

 the strongly basic protamines (see below) and the true proteins. Their 

 content of nitrogen varies between 16.5 and 19.8 per cent, and in certain 

 instances is not higher than in other proteins, especially vegetable pro- 

 teins. According to KOSSEL and KUTSCHER and LAWROW they are, 

 on the contrary, richer in basic nitrogen, and especially yield more arginine 

 than other proteins. KOSSEL first isolated a peculiar protein substance 

 from the red corpuscles of goose blood which was precipitated by ammonia, 

 and because of its similarity in certain regards to the peptones (in the 

 old sense) he called it histone. At the present time a number of very 

 different bodies are described as histones, such as those obtained from 

 nucleohistone (LILIENFELD), from haemoglobin (globin according to 

 SCHULZ), from mackerel spermatozoa (scombron according to BANG), 

 from the codfish (gadushistone according to KOSSEL and KUTSCHER) , 



