α-Crystallin is a lens protein that contains two homologous subunits: αA- and αB-crystallins. α-Crystallin displays chaperone-like activity and plays an important role in maintaining lens transparency. It has been noted that in diabetic conditions of rats there is a decline in the chaperone activity of α-Crystallin. Research has shown that a dietary antioxidant, curcumin, can prevent this loss of chaperone activity.
Biochem/physiol Actions
α-Crystallin is a small heat-shock protein that has chaperone-like activity, preventing protein aggregation in vitro. Point mutations in α-crystallin genes are believed to be responsible for hereditary cataract development.
Purpose/Aim: The amount of membrane-bound α-crystallin increases significantly with age and cataract formation, accompanied by a corresponding decline in the level of α-crystallin in the lens cytoplasm. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the binding affinity of α-crystallin
Binding of Alpha-Crystallin to Cortical and Nuclear Lens Lipid Membranes Derived from a Single Lens.
Timsina, et al.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23 (2023)
The concentration of α-crystallin decreases in the eye lens cytoplasm, with a corresponding increase in membrane-bound α-crystallin during cataract formation. The eye lens's fiber cell plasma membrane consists of extremely high cholesterol (Chol) content, forming cholesterol bilayer domains (CBDs) within
Delay of diabetic cataract in rats by the antiglycating potential of cumin through modulation of α-crystallin chaperone activity.
Cataract, loss of eye lens transparency, is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. alpha-Crystallin, initially known as one of the major structural proteins of the eye lens, is composed of two homologous subunits alphaA- and alphaB-crystallins. It is convincingly established
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