Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Chaperone activity in the lens.

Robert C Augusteyn1, Letitia Murnane, Andrea Nicola

  • 1National Vision Research Institute of Australia, 386 Cardigan Street, Carlton VIC 3053, Austalia.

Clinical & Experimental Optometry
|April 16, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Oxidation-Induced Mixed Disulfide and Cataract Formation: A Review.

Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)·2025
Same author

Factors Associated with Prolonged RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 Positive Testing in Patients with Mild and Moderate Forms of COVID-19: A Retrospective Study.

Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania)·2022
Same author

Biometry of the human cornea and globe: An evaluation by age, gender and population.

Experimental eye research·2022
Same author

Relationship of the cornea and globe dimensions to the changes in adult human crystalline lens diameter, thickness and power with age.

Experimental eye research·2021
Same author

Isolated human crystalline lens three-dimensional shape: A comparison between Indian and European populations.

Experimental eye research·2021
Same author

Morphometric analysis of in vitro human crystalline lenses using digital shadow photogrammetry.

Experimental eye research·2020
Same journal

An international survey of low vision rehabilitation services.

Clinical & experimental optometry·2026
Same journal

Readiness of the tabletop screen-based perimetry tests for screening and monitoring glaucoma.

Clinical & experimental optometry·2026
Same journal

Validation of the vision quality of life-time survey: comparison with the convergence insufficiency symptom survey.

Clinical & experimental optometry·2026
Same journal

Measuring contrast sensitivity in school children and young adults: a comparison between Pelli-Robson and SpotChecks charts.

Clinical & experimental optometry·2026
Same journal

Three-year retinal and visual outcomes after ultraviolet- and blue light-filtering intraocular lenses.

Clinical & experimental optometry·2026
Same journal

Repeatability of choroidal optical coherence tomography angiography metrics in healthy young adults.

Clinical & experimental optometry·2026
See all related articles

Alpha-crystallin (α-crystallin) chaperone activity declines with lens aging due to polypeptide degradation, not conformational changes. This loss contributes to age-related changes in lens transparency and potentially cataract development.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Alpha-crystallin (α-crystallin) functions as a molecular chaperone in the eye lens, preventing protein precipitation and maintaining lens transparency.
  • Loss of α-crystallin chaperone activity is implicated in cataract formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of lens growth and aging on the chaperone activity of α-crystallin.

Main Methods:

  • Purified α-crystallins from bovine lens layers.
  • Assessed chaperone activity by measuring inhibition of thermally denatured β(L)-crystallin precipitation.
  • Quantified chaperone affinity using the molar ratio of α-crystallin/β(L)-crystallin for 50% inhibition.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Chaperone activity decreased from the lens cortex to the nucleus, indicated by an increased ratio from 0.52 to 1.24.
  • Lens nucleus α-crystallin showed reduced protective ability compared to cortical α-crystallin.
  • Increased polypeptide degradation in the nucleus correlated with reduced chaperone function; renaturation and phosphorylation did not restore activity.

    • Conclusions:

    • Loss of α-crystallin chaperone activity in the aging lens is primarily due to polypeptide degradation.
    • Degradation is associated with fiber cell compression in the lens nucleus.