Lens β-crystallins: the role of deamidation and related modifications in aging and cataract.

ABSTRACT: Crystallins are the major proteins in the lens of the eye and function to maintain transparency of the lens. Of the human crystallins, α, β, and γ, the β-crystallins remain the most elusive in their structural significance due to their greater number of subunits and possible oligomer formations. The β-crystallins are also heavily modified during aging. This review focuses on the functional significance of deamidation and the related modifications of racemization and isomerization, the major modifications in β-crystallins of the aged human lens. Elucidating the role of these modifications in cataract formation has been slow, because they are analytically among the most difficult post-translational modifications to study. Recent results suggest that many amides deamidate to similar extent in

SUBMITTER: Lampi KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4374893 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature