Distribution of αB-Crystallin in the Central Retina and Optic Nerve Head of Different Mammals and its Changes during Outer and Inner Retinal Degeneration

The small heat shock proteins alpha B-crystallin (ABC) and Hsp27 are chaperone molecules that maintain the integrity of intracellular processes during various types of stress. While Hsp27 is rather specific for the human and has only modified related proteins in other mammals (e.g. Hsp25 in rodents and birds) [1,2], ABC is a highly conserved protein that exists in nearly any species examined [3-6]. In previous work we could show that ABC is present in the retrolaminar optic nerve of numerous species including human, monkey, cow, pig, rat, and mouse [7,8]. The amount of ABC showed species differences but was homogenous within different age groups of a single species.