Escherichia Coli Extract/sh-Polypeptide-138 is a single chain recombinant peptide produced by fermentation in E. coli, where the final product contains proteins from the E. coli host. The starting gene, which is a synthesized copy of the human gene that codes for Type II Cuticular Hb5 Keratin, is used as such or adapted to the production host. The parent protein contains a maximum of 507 amino acids which may contain disulfide bonds and/or glycosylation. The protein consists of the proper sequence of the 20 standard amino acids.