The bicistronic nature of lens alpha-crystallin 14S mRNA.

Synthesis of DNA complementary to 14S calf lens crystallin messenger RNA by reverse transcriptase.

Calf crystallin synthesis in frog cells: the translation of lens-cell 14S RNA in oocytes.

14S RNA isolated from calf-lens polyribosomes was injected into oocytes of the frog Xenopus laevis. Oocytes injected with 14S RNA and buffer contained a protein resembling the A2 chain of calf alpha-crystallin; oocytes injected with buffer alone contained no crystallin-like material. alphaA2 crystallin polypeptides were identified by various criteria: urea-gel electrophoresis under acidic and b...

Crystallin genes: lens specificity of the murine alpha A-crystallin gene.

The abundant soluble proteins of the eye lens, the crystallins, are encoded by several gene families which are developmentally regulated in the embryonic lens. We have studied the expression of the murine alpha A-crystallin gene. Transfection experiments using the pSVO-CAT vector and explanted lens epithelia from embryonic chickens demonstrated proximal (-88 to -60) and distal (-111 to -85) reg...

Alpha-crystallin.

Alpha A and alpha B-crystallins are a major protein component of the mammalian eye lens. Being a member of the small heat-shock protein family they possess chaperone-like function. The alpha-crystallins and especially alpha B is also found outside the lens having an extensive tissue distribution. Alpha B-crystallin is found to be over-expressed in many neurological diseases, and mutations in al...

eye-lens protein y-crystallin

Although ubiquitous, no universal function can be confidently ascribed to glutathione. The eye lens maintains higher concentrations of reduced glutathione within its cells than do other tissues (Waley, 1969). The ratio of protein thiol to reduced glutathione in most species of lens is about 5:1 (Kuck et al., 1982). The requirement for glutathione in maintaining a transparent lens is indicated b...