The human lens contains three major protein families: α-, β-, and γ-crystallin. Among the several variants of γ-crystallin in the human lens, γD-crystallin is a major form. γD-Crystallin is primarily present in the nuclear region of the lens and contains a single lysine residue at the second position (K2). In this study, we investigated the acetylation of K2 in γD-crystallin in aging and catara...

PURPOSE betaB2-crystallin is one of the most abundant proteins of the adult ocular lens of mammals although it is expressed at lower levels in several extralenticular locations. While mutations in betaB2-crystallin are known to result in lens opacities, alterations in tissues besides the lens have not been previously investigated in these mutants. Since we found mice harboring the Crybb2Phil mu...

α-Crystallin is a member of small heat shock proteins and is believed to play an exceptional role in the stability of eye lens proteins. The disruption or denaturation of the protein arrangement or solubility of the crystallin proteins can lead to vision problems including cataract. In the present study, we have examined the effect of chemical denaturants urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHC...

We recently demonstrated that αA-crystallin, a molecular chaperone, protected photoreceptors from apoptotic signals in intraocular inflammation. Advanced glycation end product (AGE) plays an important role in the progression of diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of α-crystallins and apoptosis in human diabetic retina, and to analyze α-crystallin up-regulat...

PURPOSE Basal-like breast tumors are typically (ER/PR/HER2) triple-negative and are associated with a high incidence of brain metastases and poor clinical outcomes. The molecular chaperone αB-crystallin is predominantly expressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and contributes to an aggressive tumor phenotype in preclinical models. We investigated the potential role of αB-crystallin in ...

Interaction among crystallins is required for the maintenance of lens transparency. Deamidation is one of the most common post-translational modifications in crystallins, which results in incorrect interaction and leads to aggregate formation. Various studies have established interaction among the α- and β-crystallins. Here, we investigated the effects of the deamidation of αA- and αB-crystalli...

PURPOSE It is well established that levels of soluble α-crystallin in the lens cytoplasm fall steadily with age, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the amount of membrane-bound α-crystallin. Less well understood, is the mechanism driving this age-dependent membrane association. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the membrane and its associated proteins and peptides in ...

In the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), (re)activation of infiltrating T cells by myelin-derived Ags is considered to be a crucial step. Previously, alpha B-crystallin has been shown to be an important myelin Ag to human T cells. Since alpha B-crystallin is an intracellular heat shock protein, the question arises at what stage, if any, during lesional development in MS this Ag becomes av...

PURPOSE The aim of the study was to comparatively analyze crystallin fragments in the water soluble high molecular weight (WS-HMW) and in the water insoluble (WI) protein fractions of human cataractous (with nuclear opacity) and age matched normal lenses to determine the identity of crystallin species that show cataract specific changes such as truncation and post-translational modifications. B...

BACKGROUND Small heat shock proteins regulate microtubule assembly during cell proliferation and in response to stress through interactions that are poorly understood. METHODOLOGY Novel functions for five interactive sequences in the small heat shock protein and molecular chaperone, human alphaB crystallin, were investigated in the assembly/disassembly of microtubules and aggregation of tubul...