Identification of a major continuous epitope of human alpha crystallin.

Human lens proteins were digested with trypsin or V8 protease, and the resulting peptides resolved on a C18 reverse phase column. Fractions from this column were probed with polyclonal antiserum made against the whole alpha crystallin molecule. Peptides in the seropositive fraction were purified to homogeneity, then characterized by mass spectral analysis and partial Edman degradation. The tryptic and V8 digests contained only one seropositive peptide that was derived from the C-terminal region of the alpha-A molecule. To determine the exact boundaries of the epitope, various size analogues of this region were synthesized and probed with anti-alpha serum. Together, these studies demonstrate that the major continuous epitope of the alpha-A chain includes the sequence KPTSAPS, corresponding to residues 166-172 of the human alpha-A crystallin chain.     

Electron microscopy of native and reconstituted alpha crystallin aggregates

The size and shape of native alpha crystallin aggregates extracted at either 4 degrees C (alpha c-crystallin) or 37 degrees C (alpha m-crystallin), were compared with each other, as well as with aggregates reconstituted from either pure alpha A or alpha B subunits using electron microscopy. The alpha B aggregates were the most uniform in size (about 9 nm in diameter) and the best stained. alpha A particles were about the same size as the alpha B, but the population distribution was broader and some indication of interparticle association was observed. alpha c particles exhibited a bimodal distribution, with one peak greater than the reconstituted particles and the other about the same size; alpha m was smaller than the reconstituted structures.     

An assay for intermolecular exchange of alpha crystallin.

An affinity column of alpha crystallin linked to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose was developed to study the exchange of alpha subunits. Alpha crystallin bound to the Sepharose-alpha complex was dissociated with 8 mol/l urea, followed by quantitation using high-performance reverse-phase liquid chromatography. The time course of binding at 37 degrees C showed a hyperbolic binding pattern reaching equilibrium between 6-18 hr. Under these conditions, binding of beta and gamma crystallins to the same matrix was less than 10% of the alpha values, as was binding of alpha to glycine-coupled Sepharose. This assay was used to demonstrate changes in the subunit exchange of alpha crystallins present in high molecular weight versus lower molecular weight aggregates of the human lens. These results show that this binding procedure was a specific reproducible assay that might be used to study intermolecular interactions of the alpha crystallins.     

Antisera to alpha crystallin as probes to study changes in lens proteins during human cataractogenesis

Antisera have been made to synthetic peptides that correspond to eight different regions of the alpha A molecule. Together with a solid phase radioimmunoassay, these antisera have been used to quantitatively assess binding to enriched alpha crystallin preparations from six different cataractous and six different normal lenses. Seven of the eight antisera show no difference in binding to alpha crystallin from cataractous versus normal lenses, whereas the antiserum directed against the alpha A sequence 120-130 shows a statistically significant decrease in binding to the alpha crystallin from cataractous lenses. Together, these studies demonstrate the feasibility of using antipeptide sera as probes of polypeptide changes during cataractogenesis and suggest that the region of the alpha A crystallin molecule encompassing residues 120-300 may undergo covalent and/or noncovalent structural modification during the process of opacification in the human senile lens.     

Ontogeny of alpha A and alpha B crystallin polypeptides during Rana temporaria lens development

The ontogeny and localization of alpha A and alpha B polypeptide chains of alpha-crystallin were investigated in the developing lens of Rana temporaria, an anuran amphibian, using the indirect immunofluorescence staining method with heterologous antibodies directed against these two polypeptides. alpha A and alpha B crystallins are primary gene products and are translated by different mRNAs in mammals. Although they show about 6000 amino-acid sequence homology (Bloemendal, 1977), the alpha A cDNA of rat and mouse does not hybridize to alpha B mRNA (Dodemont et al., 1981; King and Piatigorsky, 1983). Antigenically too, alpha A and alpha B polypeptides have been shown to be different. These two polypeptides were isolated from mouse lens native alpha-crystallin by SDS-gel electrophoresis and were injected into young rabbits to raise antibodies. These antibodies were tested by immunoblotting against R. temporaria total lens soluble proteins before their use in the present investigation. Results presented here show that in the developing lens of R. temporaria, alpha A appears earlier than alpha B, suggesting a differential gene activation. In addition, these two polypeptides could not be detected either in the developing lens epithelium or in the epithelium of young froglets (2-3 weeks post-metamorphosis).     

Covalent change in alpha crystallin in opaque and transparent sections from the same human cataractous lens

Opaque and transparent regions from the cortex of the same human cataractous lens were removed, and the water soluble proteins from these sections were resolved by isoelectric focusing in the presence of 8M urea, followed by Western blot analysis using antisera to the whole alpha crystallin molecule. Analysis of 18 different sections from 3 different lens demonstrated statistically significant changes in the charge distribution of alpha crystallins between opaque and transparent sections, with the greatest changes occurring in the anterior, posterior and equatorial sections from a 66-year-old cataractous lens. All opaque sections from this lens contained alpha crystallin with more positive charge than the transparent sections from the same lens. This change was present in both the water soluble and the insoluble fractions of the microdissected sections, and could also be demonstrated by probing of the Western blots with antisera made against synthetic peptides corresponding to the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of the molecule. Together, these results demonstrate that during human senile cataractogenesis there is often a covalent modification of the alpha crystallin molecule, which is probably not due to simple proteolysis, and which results in a shift of the alpha crystallin molecule to a more basic form.     

Age-dependent loss of the C-terminal amino acid from alpha crystallin.

Antiserum made against the C-terminal region of alpha-A crystallin was used to monitor the purification of a tryptic peptide containing the C-terminus of the molecule from fetal versus adult bovine lenses. Mass spectral analysis of the peptide preparations obtained from these lenses demonstrated the presence of a peptide (T20) containing an intact C-terminus from fetal lenses and the presence of an additional peptide (T20') from older lenses that contained a cleaved C-terminal serine. These results demonstrate an age-dependent processing of alpha-A crystallin in the bovine lens, resulting in removal of the C-terminal amino acid residue.     

α-晶状体蛋白对维持晶状体透明性的功能研究进展

α-晶状体蛋白是眼晶状体细胞质的主要成分,由小热休克蛋白家族中的αA-晶状体蛋白和αB-晶状体蛋白组成.α-晶状体蛋白具有分子伴侣活性,还有调控细胞周期、增强基因组稳定性、防止压力诱导性细胞凋亡的作用.α-晶状体蛋白相关基因突变常引起遗传性白内障,是目前儿童盲的主要原因,而α-晶状体蛋白的多种改变可导致年龄相关性白内障.了解α-晶状体蛋白的功能有助于理解晶状体的发育及其正常功能的维持,为预防及治疗α-晶状体蛋白相关性白内障提供理论依据.就白内障发生机制、遗传定位及晶状体蛋白的功能进行综述.     

The ability of lens alpha crystallin to protect against heat-induced aggregation is age-dependent.

Alpha crystallin was prepared from newborn and aged bovine lenses. SDS-PAGE and tryptic peptide mapping demonstrated that both preparations contained only the alpha-A and alpha-B chains, with no significant contamination of other crystallins. Compared with alpha crystallin from the aged lens, alpha crystallin from the newborn lens was much more effective in the inhibition of beta L crystallin denaturation and precipitation induced in vitro by heat. Together, these results demonstrate that during the aging process, the alpha crystallins lose their ability to protect against protein denaturation, consistent with the hypothesis that the alpha crystallins play an important role in the maintenance of protein native structure in the intact lens.     

Identification of the specific phosphorylated serine in the bovine alpha crystallin A1 chain

Previous work (1,2,3) has indicated that the in vivo post-translational modification of the alpha crystallin primary gene product A2 is due to a specific phosphorylation process involving a serine residue located in a chymotryptic fragment with the sequence ARG-LEU-PRO-SER-ASN-VAL-ASP-GLN-SER-ALA-LEU which corresponds to the residues 119 to 129 of the polypeptide chain. To define which of the two serines is phosphorylated, the present experiments were carried out. The 32P-labeled chymotryptic fragment was obtained from alpha crystallin isolated from the outer cortex of calf lenses incubated in the presence of [32P]-orthophosphate. By analyses of the products obtained after Edman degradation, utilizing electrophoresis in cellulose TLC plates and radioautography, it was possible to locate the phosphate in the serine residue at position 122 in the polypeptide chain. No phosphate could be detected in the serine residue at position 127.     

The Nitrite/alpha crystallin reaction: a possible mechanism in lens matrix damage

Recent work has explored the potential deleterious role that nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives may have in human disease. The many by-products of NO include nitrite ion, which accumulates in the anterior chamber during ocular inflammation and can be derived from cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking has been strongly linked to nuclear cataract formation, although the mechanism remains unknown. We have previously observed that nitrite reactions with the matrix proteins elastin and collagen produce damaging effects that mimic those observed in age- and smoking-related illnesses. In the present study we report on the reaction of nitrite with alpha crystallin, the major lens matrix protein. Incubations at neutral pH and body temperature of nitrite with alpha crystallin resulted in protein modifications indicative of oxidative damage and similar to changes seen in the aging lens as well as cataracts. These include increased fluorescence, yellowing and protein cross-linking. L-kynurenine, a tryptophan derivative, was identified as a reaction product. L-kynurenine was also formed from the reaction of nitrite with free tryptophan. Thus, this non-enzymatic nitration of alpha crystallin provides a novel mechanism by which lens proteins may be damaged in vivo. Since human exposure to nitrite is increased by cigarette smoking, this reaction could provide an explanation for the association between nuclear cataracts and smoking.     

Lens crystallin leakage in aqueous humor from human cataractous lenses]

The amounts of human lens crystallins in the aqueous humor from various types of cataract patients were measured by radioimmunoassay. alpha, beta and gamma-crystallins as antigens for radioimmunoassay were purified from one-year-old normal human lens by TSK3000SW gel permeation column using high performance liquid chromatography. The amounts of both alpha- and gamma-crystallin in the aqueous humor from the patients with cortical and posterior subcapsular cataract were relatively low but in the case of mature cataract those of both crystallins increased. While the amounts of beta-crystallin in aqueous humor from cortical and posterior subcapsular cataract patients were at the same level compared with alpha-crystallin, those from mature cataract patients showed extremely high values.