Chemical process of decomposition during early decomposition, while others are degraded during later stages of decomposition. During the early stages of decomposition, soft tissue proteins are broken down. These include proteins that: During later stages of decomposition, more resistant tissue proteins are degraded by the effects of putrefaction. These include: Keratin is a protein which is found in skin, hair, and nails. It is most resistant to the enzymes involved in proteolysis and must be broken down by special keratinolytic microorganisms. This is the reason that hair and nails are commonly found with skeletal remains. In general, proteolysis breaks down proteins into: Continuing proteolysis
MPLKIP MPLKIP M-phase-specific PLK1-interacting protein (TTD non-photosensitive 1 protein) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MPLKIP gene (previously known as C7orf11). Patients with an inherited defect in both alleles of the gene suffer from trichothiodystrophy (TTD), a disease hallmarked by brittle hair and nails and usually by developmental difficulties as well. One patient carries a homozygous deletion of the whole gene area, which indicates that the gene is not essential for embryonic development. TTD can be diagnosed by the presence of tigertail-striped patterns in hair visible under polarised light microscopy, or biochemically by a reduced Cys content