Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Isolation of Intermediate Filament Proteins from Multiple Mouse Tissues to Study Aging-associated Post-translational Modifications
Published on: May 18, 2017
Decreased association of aged alpha crystallins with gamma crystallins
Larry J Takemoto1, Aldo A Ponce
1Department of Biology, Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, 66506, USA. takemlj@ksu.edu
Abstract:
Previous studies have demonstrated non-covalent interactions of alpha crystallins with gamma crystallins, under true equilibrium conditions. These interactions could affect short-range interactions of lens crystallins that are necessary for the transparent properties of the lens. Since the transparent properties of the lens decrease during aging, it is possible that there are corresponding changes in the ability of aged alpha crystallins to interact with gamma crystallins. In the following study, alpha crystallins were prepared from fetal and aged bovine lenses, then tested for binding to gamma crystallins using microequilibrium dialysis. The results demonstrate that during aging of the normal bovine lens, there is a decrease in the ability of alpha crystallins to bind to gamma crystallins, consistent with the involvement of this interaction in the transparent properties of the lens.
Related Concept Videos
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
The Effect of Aging on Tissues
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways