Human lens. gamma. -crystallins: isolation, identification, and characterization of the expressed gene products

Journal Article · Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.84.17.6088· OSTI ID:5298365

Siezen, R J; Thomson, J A; Kaplan, E D; Benedek, G B

The authors have isolated the individual ..gamma..-crystallins expressed in young human lenses and identified with which of the six known human ..gamma..-crystallin genes they each correspond. They find that at least 90% of the ..gamma..-crystallins synthesized in the young human lens are the products of genes ..gamma..G3 and ..gamma..G4. They demonstrate that ..gamma..G4-crystallin undergoes a temperature-dependent phase separation, and they have measured the low-concentration branch of its coexistence curve up to about 40 mg/ml. By comparison, they found no evidence of ..gamma..G3-crystallin phase separating, even at lower temperatures and higher concentrations. This is consistent with predictions based on sequence homology between human and rat ..gamma..-crystallins. The implications of these findings for human inherited and senile cataracts are considered.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5298365
• Journal Information: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States), Vol. 84:17
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
CRYSTALLINE LENS
GENE REGULATION
PROTEINS
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
CATARACTS
ELECTROPHORESIS
EYES
GENES
ION EXCHANGE CHROMATOGRAPHY
MAN
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
ANIMALS
BODY
BODY AREAS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
DISEASES
FACE
HEAD
MAMMALS
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PRIMATES
SENSE ORGANS
SENSE ORGANS DISEASES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
VERTEBRATES
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques