The benefits of being β-Crystallin heteromers against thermal denaturation

【作者】 冷筱瑶； 王沙； 闫永彬；

【机构】 清华大学生命科学学院；

【摘要】 <正>α-,β- andγ-crystallins are the major protein components of human lens.α-Crystallin serves as a molecular chaperone,whileβ- andγ-crystallins are the main structural proteins in the lens.The solubility and stability of crystallins are important in maintaining the trans-parency and refraction index of lens.When subject to the persistent environmental stresses during aging,crystallins may lose their solubility and stability.The aggregation of crystallins will interfere with the vision by scattering of the light,which is generally recog-nized as the main cause of aging cataract.β-crystallins mainly exist as heteromers formed by acidicβA-crystallins and basic更多还原