Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to irreversible retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss and is one of the main causes of blindness worldwide. The pathogenesis of glaucoma remains unclear, and novel approaches for neuroprotective treatments are urgently needed. Previous studies have revealed significant down-regulation of α-crystallin B as an initial reaction to elevated intraocular ...

AlphaB-crystallin and heat shock protein (hsp) 25 are structurally and functionally related small stress proteins induced by a variety of insults, including heat and ischemia. Cytoprotection by these two hsp is thought to result from molecular chaperoning and/or cytoskeletal stabilization. Because renal ischemia is characterized by disruption of the renal tubular cell actin cytoskeleton, this s...

one of the small heat-shock proteins (sHSPs), is constitutively expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, kidney and brain (Dubin et al., 1989), as well as in lens. It has an approximate molecular mass of 22 kDa and exists as a large, oligomeric complex of approximately 200-800 kDa in the native state (Bloemendal, 1977). The complex is composed of a globular oligomer, and denatured proteins bind to ...

Previous work has identified crystallin proteins extracted from fish eye lenses as a cheap and readily available source for the self-assembly of amyloid nanofibrils. However, before exploring potential applications, the biophysical aspects and safety of this bionanomaterial need to be assessed so as to ensure that it can be effectively and safely used. In this study, crude crystallin amyloid fi...

Purpose Anti-crystallin autoantibodies have been often demonstrated in patients with cataract but only few studies point out on autoantibodies directed against the different crystallin classes. Our aim was to determmr the prevalence of antI-a-, anti-p, or antI-7 crystalho autoantibodIes m sera from 54 patients with lugh level of anti-total lens extract antibodies in comparison to control group ...

The chaperone-like activity of α-crystallin is considered to play an important role in the maintenance of the transparency of the eye lens. However, in the case of aging and in diabetes, the chaperone function of α-crystallin is compromized, resulting in cataract formation. Several post-translational modifications, including non-enzymatic glycation, have been shown to affect the chaperone funct...

Purpose Anti-crystallin autoantibodies have been often demonstrated in patients with cataract but only few studies point out on autoantibodies directed against the different crystallin classes. Our aim was to determmr the prevalence of antI-a-, anti-p, or antI-7 crystalho autoantibodIes m sera from 54 patients with lugh level of anti-total lens extract antibodies in comparison to control group ...

PURPOSE. In the mammalian lens, the expression of the and -crystallin families is thought to be limited to fiber cells. However, several studies detected these proteins or their mRNAs in human lens epithelial cells. To resolve this apparent discrepancy, 14 crystallin mRNAs were examined and the expression and subcellular distribution of selected crystallin proteins in lens epithelial cells dete...

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive brain cancer that is characterized by the paradoxical features of intense apoptosis resistance yet a marked propensity to undergo necrosis. Bcl2L12 (for Bcl2-Like12) is a nuclear and cytoplasmic oncoprotein that is universally overexpressed in primary GBM and functions to block postmitochondrial apoptosis signaling by neutralizing effector ca...

The present study established a heat-stressed rat heart model, and used an H9c2 myocardial cell line to investigate the expression profiles of heat shock protein (Hsp)27 and αB-crystallin, both in vivo and in vitro. Rats and myocardial cells were subjected to 42 ˚C for 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 min, following which the mRNA and protein expression levels of Hsp27 and αB-crystallin were measured. ...