Protection of ζ-crystallin by α-crystallin under thermal stress.

Cataract is one of the major causes of blindness worldwide. Several factors including post-translational modification, thermal and solar radiations promote cataractogenesis. The camel lens proteins survive very harsh desert conditions and resist cataractogenesis. The folding and aggregation mechanism of camel lens proteins are poorly characterized. The camel lens contains three ubiquitous crystallins (α-, ß-, and γ-crystallin) and a novel protein (ζ-crystallin) in large amounts. In this study, a sequence similarity search of camel α-crystallin with that of other organisms showed that the camel αB-crystallin consists of an extended N-terminal domain. Our results indicate that camel α-crystallin efficiently prevented aggregation of ζ-crystallin, with or without an obligate cofactor up to 89 °C. It performed a quick and efficient holdase function irrespective of the unfolding stage or aggregation. Camel α-crystallin exhibits approximately 20% chaperone activity between 30 and 40 °C and is completely activated above 40 °C. Camel α-crystallin underwent a single reversible thermal transition without loss of ß-sheet secondary structure. Intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence and ANS binding experiments revealed two transitions which corresponded to activation of its chaperone function. In contrast to earlier studies, camel α-crystallin completely protected lens proteins during thermal stress.

Dimerization and oxidation of tryptophan in UV-A photolysis sensitized by kynurenic acid.

Photoinduced generation of radicals in the eye lens may play an important role in the modification of proteins leading to their coloration, aggregation, and insolubilization. The radicals can be formed via the reactions of photoexcited endogenous chromophores of the human lens with lens proteins, in particular with tryptophan residues. In the present work we studied the reactions induced by UV-A (315-400nm) light between kynurenic acid (KNA), an effective photosensitizer present in the human lens, and N-acetyl-L-tryptophan (NTrpH) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Our results show that the reaction mechanism strongly depends on the presence of oxygen in solution. Under aerobic conditions, the generation of singlet oxygen is the major channel of the effective NTrpH oxidation. In argon-bubbled solutions, the quenching of triplet KNA by NTrpH results in the formation of KNA•- and NTrp• radicals. Under laser pulse irradiation, when the radical concentration is high, the main pathway of the radical decay is the back electron transfer with the restoration of initial reagents. Other reactions include (i) the radical combination yielding NTrp dimers and (ii) the oxygen atom transfer from KNA•- to NTrp• with the formation of oxidized NTrp species and deoxygenated KNA products. In continuous-wave photolysis, even trace amounts of molecular oxygen are sufficient to oxidize the majority of KNA•- radicals with the rate constant of (2.0 ± 0.2) × 109M-1s-1, leading to the restoration of KNA and the formation of superoxide radical O2•-. The latter reacts with NTrp• via either the radical combination to form oxidized NTrp (minor pathway), or the electron transfer to restore NTrpH in the ground state (major pathway). As the result, the quantum yields of the starting compound decomposition under continuous-wave anaerobic photolysis are rather low: 1.6% for NTrpH and 0.02% for KNA. The photolysis of KNA with alpha-crystallin yields the same deoxygenated KNA products as the photolysis of KNA with NTrpH, indicating the similarity of the photolysis mechanisms. Thus, inside the eye lens KNA can sensitize both protein photooxidation and protein covalent cross-linking with the minor self-degradation. This may play an important role in the lens protein modifications during the normal aging and cataract development.

Effect of trifluoroethanol on α-crystallin: folding, aggregation, amyloid, and cytotoxicity analysis.

α-Crystallin, a member of small heat shock proteins, is the major structural protein within the eye lens and is believed to play an exceptional role in the stability of lens proteins and its transparency. In the current manuscript, we have investigated the effect of an organic solvent, trifluoroethanol (TFE), on the structure and function of α-crystallin isolated from camel eye lens. Incubation of this protein with TFE changed the secondary and tertiary structures, which resulted in the aggregation of α-crystallin as evidenced by intrinsic fluorescence, Rayleigh's scattering, Thioflavin T assay, and circular dichroism spectroscopic studies. The treatment with different concentrations of TFE led to increased exposure of hydrophobic domains of α-crystallin, which was observed by 8-anilino 1-napthalene sulfonic acid extrinsic fluorescence assay. These results clearly indicate that TFE induced significant changes in the secondary and tertiary structures of α-crystallin, leading to aggregation and amyloid formation. Furthermore, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay established the cytotoxicity of the aggregated α-crystallin towards HepG2 cell lines through reactive oxygen species production. In conclusion, α-crystallin protein was found to be susceptible to conformational changes by TFE, suggesting that α-crystallin, although basically acting like a heat shock protein and functionally displaying chaperone-like activity, might capitulate to change in lens environment induced by diseased conditions or age-related changes, resulting in cataract formation.

Identification of amino acid epimerization and isomerization in crystallin proteins by tandem LC-MS.

Post-translational modifications that do not result in a change in mass are particularly difficult to detect by mass spectrometry. For example, isomerization of aspartic acid or epimerization of any chiral residue within a peptide do not lead to mass shifts but can be identified by examination of independently acquired tandem mass spectra or by combination with another technique. For analysis of a biological sample, this means that liquid chromatography or some other type of separation must be used to first separate the isomers from one another. Furthermore, each specific m/z of interest must be sampled repeatedly to allow for comparison of the tandem mass spectra from each separated isomer, which contrasts with the traditional approach in proteomics where the goal is typically to avoid resampling the same m/z. We illustrate that isomerization and epimerization of peptides can be identified in this fashion by examination of long-lived crystallin proteins extracted from a sheep eye lens. Tandem mass spectrometry relying on a combination of radical directed dissociation (RDD) and collision induced dissociation (CID) following separation by liquid chromatography was used to identify modified peptides. Numerous sites of isomerization and epimerization, including several that have not been previously identified, were determined with peptide specificity. It is demonstrated that the specific sites of amino acid isomerization within each peptide can be identified by comparison with synthetic peptides. For α-crystallin proteins, the sites that undergo the greatest degree of isomerization correspond to disordered regions, which may have important implications on chaperone functionality within the context of aging.

Identification and characterization of protein glycosylation using specific endo- and exoglycosidases.

Enzymatic deglycosylation followed by SDS-PAGE is a valuable method to detect glycan modifications on protein samples. Specific glycosidases were used to remove sugars from glycoproteins in a controlled fashion leaving the protein core intact; the resulting change in molecular weight could be detected as shifts in gel mobility. Alternatively, glycan-sensitive reagents were used to visualize the intensity of glycoprotein bands before and after enzyme treatment. The ease of use of these techniques, which require only basic laboratory instrumentation and reagents, makes them the methodology of choice for initial glycobiology studies. These protocols are also well suited to screen for optimal expression conditions, since multiple glycoprotein samples can be processed at once.

Lens proteome map and alpha-crystallin profile of the catfish Rita rita.

Crystallins are a diverse group of proteins that constitute nearly 90% of the total soluble proteins of the vertebrate eye lens and these tightly packed crystallins are responsible for transparency of the lens. These proteins have been studied in different model and non-model species for understanding the modifications they undergo with ageing that lead to cataract, a disease of protein aggregation. In the present investigation, we studied the lens crystallin profile of the tropical freshwater catfish Rita rita. Profiles of lens crystallins were analyzed and crystallin proteome maps of Rita rita were generated for the first time. alphaA-crystallins, member of the alpha-crystallin family, which are molecular chaperons and play crucial role in maintaining lens transparency were identified by 1- and 2-D immunoblot analysis with anti-alphaA-crystallin antibody. Two protein bands of 19-20 kDa were identified as alphaA-crystallins on 1-D immunoblots and these bands separated into 10 discrete spots on 2-D immunoblot. However, anti-alphaB-crystallin and antiphospho-alphaB-crystallin antibodies were not able to detect any immunoreactive bands on 1- and 2-D immunoblots, indicating alphaB-crystallin was either absent or present in extremely low concentration in Rita rita lens. Thus, Rita rita alpha-crystallins are more like that of the catfish Clarias batrachus and the mammal kangaroo in its alphaA- and alphaB-crystallin content (contain low amount from 5-9% of alphaB-crystallin) and unlike the dogfish, zebrafish, human, bovine and mouse alpha-crystallins (contain higher amount of alphaB-crystallin from 25% in mouse and bovine to 85% in dogfish). Results of the present study can be the baseline information for stimulating further investigation on Rita rita lens crystallins for comparative lens proteomics. Comparing and contrasting the alpha-crystallins of the dogfish and Rita rita may provide valuable information on the functional attributes of alphaA- and alphaB-isoforms, as they are at the two extremes in terms of alphaA-and alphaB-crystallin content.

Comparative analysis of crystallins and lipids from the lens of Antarctic toothfish and cow.

Animal model systems of senile cataract and lens crystallin stability are essential to understand the complex nature of lens transparency. Our aim in this study was to assess the long-lived Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni (Norman) as a model system to understand long-term lens clarity in terms of solubility changes that occur to crystallins. We compared the toothfish with the mammalian model cow lens, dissecting each species' lens into a cortex and nuclear region. In addition to crystallin distribution, we also assayed fatty acid (FA) composition by negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The majority of toothfish lens crystallins from cortex (90.4%) were soluble, whereas only a third (31.8%) from the nucleus was soluble. Crystallin solubility analysis by SDS-PAGE and immunoblots revealed that relative proportions of crystallins in both soluble and urea-soluble fractions were similar within each species examined and in agreement with previous reports for bovine lens. From our data, we found that both toothfish and cow crystallins follow patterns of insolubility that mirror each animals lens composition with more γ crystallin aggregation seen in the toothfish lens nucleus than in cow. Toothfish lens lipids had a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids that were absent in cow resulting in an unsaturation index (I(U)) four-fold higher than that of cow. We identified a novel FA with a molecular mass of 267 mass units in the lens epithelial layer of the toothfish that accounted for well over 50% of the FA abundance. The unidentified lipid in the toothfish lens epithelia corresponds to either an odd-chain (17 carbons) FA or a furanoid. We conclude that long-lived fishes are likely good animal models of lens crystallin solubility and may model post-translational modifications and solubility changes better than short-lived animal models.

Structure/function studies of dogfish alpha-crystallin, comparison with bovine alpha-crystallin.

PURPOSE: alpha-Crystallin is the major protein of the mammalian lens where it contributes to the refractive properties needed for vision and possibly to the stability of the tissue. The aim of this study was to determine whether the properties of alpha-crystallin have changed during the course of evolution. METHODS: Dogfish alpha-crystallin, which appeared over 420 million years ago, has been contrasted with bovine alpha-crystallin, which emerged around 160 million years later, by comparing their sizes, the microenvironments of their cysteine and tryptophan residues, their chaperone-like activities and the flexibility of their COOH-terminal extensions. RESULTS: Dogfish alpha-crystallin consists of alphaA- and alphaB-polypeptides, in a 1:5 ratio, and has a molecular mass of around 400 kDa. By contrast, the bovine protein is around 600-800 kDa in mass and has a 3:1 subunit ratio. Cysteine residues in the proteins were equally accessible to reaction with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Quenching of fluorescence with acrylamide indicated tryptophan residues in the two proteins were in similar environments. The chaperone activity of dogfish alpha-crystallin was comparable to that of bovine alpha-crystallin in preventing the heat-induced precipitation of beta(L)-crystallin but the dogfish protein was three times more effective at preventing insulin precipitation after reduction at 37 C. (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies showed that the last 17 amino acids of the dogfish alphaB polypeptide (V162-K178) have great conformational flexibility, are highly exposed to solvent and adopt little ordered conformation. This is comparable to, but slightly longer in length, than the COOH-terminal extension observed in mammalian alpha-crystallins. CONCLUSIONS: The structure and properties of alpha-crystallin have changed relatively little during the evolutionary period from the emergence of sharks and mammals.

Resistance of alpha-crystallin quaternary structure to UV irradiation.

The damaging effect of UV radiation (lambda > 260 nm) on bovine alpha-crystallin in solution was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering, gel permeation chromatography, electrophoresis, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results obtained show that damage to even a large number of subunits within an alpha-crystallin oligomer does not cause significant rearrangement of its quaternary structure, aggregation of oligomers, or the loss of their solubility. Due to the high resistance of its quaternary structure, alpha-crystallin is able to prevent aggregation of destabilized proteins (especially of gamma- and beta-crystallins) and so to maintain lens transparency throughout the life of an animal (the chaperone-like function of alpha-crystallin).

Structure and orientation of T4 lysozyme bound to the small heat shock protein alpha-crystallin.

We have determined the structural changes that accompany the formation of a stable complex between a destabilized mutant of T4 lysozyme (T4L) and the small heat shock protein alpha-crystallin. Using pairs of fluorescence or spin label probes to fingerprint the T4L tertiary fold, we demonstrate that binding disrupts tertiary packing in the two domains as well as across the active-site cleft. Furthermore, increased distances between i and i+4 residues of helices support a model in which the bound structure is not native-like but significantly unfolded. In the confines of the oligomer, T4L has a preferential orientation with residues in the more hydrophobic C-terminal domain sequestered in a buried environment, while residues in the N-terminal domain are exposed to the aqueous solvent. Furthermore, electron paramagnetic resonance spectral line shapes of sites in the N-terminal domain are narrower than in the folded, unbound T4L reflecting an unstructured backbone and an asymmetric pattern of contacts between T4L and alpha-crystallin. The net orientation is not affected by the location of the destabilizing mutation consistent with the notion that binding is not triggered by recognition of localized unfolding. Together, the structural and thermodynamic data indicate that the stably bound conformation of T4L is unfolded and support a model in which the two modes of substrate binding originate from two discrete binding sites on the chaperone.

Screening of crystallin-crystallin interactions using microequilibrium dialysis.

PURPOSE: It has been hypothesized that short-range, protein-protein interactions of crystallin are necessary for the maintenance of lens transparency. Because of their probable weak nature, it has been difficult to both detect and quantitate the nature of these interactions. To determine if interactions exist between alpha-crystallin and gamma-crystallin under true equilibrium conditions, we have used microequilibrium dialysis. METHODS: Total alpha-crystallin and gamma-crystallin were prepared from soluble proteins of fetal bovine lenses by HPLC and gel filtration chromatography. The proteins were added to one side of a microequilibrium dialysis cell, comprised of two chambers separated by a membrane with 100 kDa molecular weight cut-off. After reaching equilibrium, the amount of free gamma-crystallin and the amount of gamma-crystallin bound to alpha-crystallin was determined by HPLC and reverse phase analysis of both chambers. Selected gamma-crystallin that bound to alpha-crystallin was further purified by ion exchange chromatography, and then incubated with alpha-crystallin, to verify the specificity of their binding. RESULTS: Analysis of both microequilibrium dialysis chambers incubated at different times at 37 degrees C indicated that equilibrium was reached at 4 days. When total alpha-crystallin and gamma-crystallin were incubated for this time period, significant binding was observed between alpha-crystallin and the IIIA, II, and IVA species of gamma-crystallin. These interactions were confirmed by microequilibrium dialysis determinations containing alpha-crystallin and purified gamma-crystallin species. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that microequilibrium dialysis can be used to demonstrate significant noncovalent interactions of alpha-crystallin and gamma-crystallin under true equilibrium conditions.

Probing alpha-crystallin structure using chemical cross-linkers and mass spectrometry.

PURPOSE: Alternatives to X-ray crystallographic techniques are needed to probe the structure of the hetero-oligomeric lens protein alpha-crystallin. We utilized mass spectrometry for 3 dimensional analysis (MS3D) to study the quaternary structural characteristics of this important lens protein and molecular chaperone. METHODS: We have employed two types of chemical cross-linkers to probe key protein-protein and protein-solvent interactions of alpha-crystallin using MS3D. Native alpha-crystallin was exposed to 3,3'-dithiobis[sulfosuccinimidyl propionate] (DTSSP) and the common fixative, formaldehyde. The reaction products were denatured and enriched in cross-linked and modified species using size exclusion chromatography. Tryptic digests of these fractions were purified using reverse phase HPLC and analyzed by both electrospray and matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry. Comprehensive spectra for each C18 fraction were screened for ions with mass unique to each chemical treatment and candidate sequences matching the experimental data were assigned using MS3D "Links" and "ASAP" software. Selected ions were sequenced by collision induced dissociation. RESULTS: Peptides including residues 164-175 of alphaB-crystallin and residues 1-99 of alphaA-crystallin were modified by formaldehyde and partially hydrolyzed DTSSP. Peptides containing modified lysines 11, 78, and 99 of alphaA-crystallin were sequenced and the modified amino acids identified. In addition, ions corresponding to intramolecular and/or intermolecular cross-links were assigned a sequence based on two criteria. First, the mass values observed were unique to a single cross-linking experiment and were not present in a control where no cross-linker was utilized. Second, two unique ions detected from different cross-linking experiments were correlated in that the structures assigned to the masses were equivalent apart from the structure of the cross-linker. One such correlation was found involving lysine121, within the "highly conserved alpha-crystallin domain" of alphaB-crystallin, cross-linked to either lysine11 or lysine99 of alphaA-crystallin. Another two independent correlations involving lysine72 of alphaB-crystallin were found that indicate cross-linking of two subunits of alphaB-crystallin through this same residue. CONCLUSIONS: Sequences of peptides modified by partially hydrolyzed DTSSP and formaldehyde provide experimental evidence for models of alpha-crystallin quaternary structure that suggest a similar tertiary fold for both alphaA-crystallin and alphaB-crystallin. Analogous to multiple phosphorylations along the N-terminus of alphaB-crystallin, our data indicate that the same region of alphaA-crystallin, up to and including lysine99 is also relatively accessible to modification despite its hydrophobicity. Mass correlation between experiments using different reagents suggests that cross-linking occurred between N-termini of adjacent subunits of alphaB-crystallin in the native complex in support of the amphiphilic, toroidal, or "open micelle" models. In addition, multiple cross-links involving lysine121 of the so called "dimer interface" region within the "highly conserved alpha-crystallin domain" indicate that this region is a site of inter-subunit contacts in the native context.

The damaging effect of UV-C irradiation on lens alpha-crystallin.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of UV-C irradiation on the structural properties of alpha-crystallin and its chaperone activity. METHODS: alpha- and betaL-crystallins were isolated from bovine lenses using gel chromatography. The purified alpha-crystallin was subjected to UV-C irradiation (254 nm; 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 J/cm2). We measured the tryptophan fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy in the far UV, and the chaperone activity of both irradiated and non-irradiated alpha-crystallin. RESULTS: The tryptophan fluorescence of alpha-crystallin decreased, whereas the N-formylkynurenine fluorescence increased markedly with increasing doses of UV-C irradiation. Both the oxidation of Met1 and the racemization of Asp151 of alphaA-crystallin increased at a dose of 1-2 J/cm2 and then gradually decreased. The CD spectrum showed that the secondary structure of alpha-crystallin altered with increasing radiation dose, and almost all of the beta-sheet structure was lost at doses above 50 J/cm2. The chaperone activity of alpha-crystallin irradiated with doses under 5 J/cm2 remained intact. However, it was reduced to only 40% after irradiation at 10 J/cm2. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that photo-oxidation of tryptophan residues in alpha-crystallin may be one of the events that affects the three-dimensional packing array and chaperone activity of this lens protein.

Role of the conserved SRLFDQFFG region of alpha-crystallin, a small heat shock protein. Effect on oligomeric size, subunit exchange, and chaperone-like activity.

Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) are necessary for several cellular functions and in stress tolerance. Most sHsps are oligomers; intersubunit interactions leading to changes in oligomeric structure and exposure of specific regions may modulate their functioning. Many sHsps, including alpha A- and alpha B-crystallin, contain a well conserved SRLFDQFFG sequence motif in the N-terminal region. Sequence-based prediction shows that it exhibits helical propensity with amphipathic character, suggesting that it plays a critical role in the structure and function of alpha-crystallins. In order to investigate the role of this motif in the structure and function of sHsps, we have made constructs deleting this sequence from alpha A- and alpha B-crystallin, overexpressed, purified, and studied these engineered proteins. Circular dichroism spectroscopic studies show changes in tertiary and secondary structure on deletion of the sequence. Glycerol density gradient centrifugation and dynamic light scattering studies show that the multimeric size of the mutant proteins is significantly reduced, indicating a role for this motif in higher order organization of the subunits. Both deletion mutants exhibit similar oligomeric size and increased chaperone-like activity. Urea-induced denaturation study shows that the SRLFDQFFG sequence contributes significantly to the structural stability. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies show that the rate of exchange of the subunits in the alpha Adel-crystallin oligomer is higher compared with that in the alpha A-crystallin oligomer, suggesting that this region contributes to the oligomer dynamics in addition to the higher order assembly and structural stability. Thus, our study shows that the SRLFDQFFG sequence is one of the critical motifs in structure-function regulation of alpha A- and alpha B-crystallin.

The effect of modification of alpha-crystallin by prednisolone-21-hemisuccinate and fructose 6-phosphate on chaperone activity.

The major lenticular protein alpha-crystallin has chaperone activity. With increasing age this chaperone function is compromised. Diabetes and glucocorticoid therapy are risk factors for cataract and are associated with raised sugar and glucocorticoid levels, respectively. These molecules react with proteins. Long-lived lenticular proteins are particularly susceptible to such attack. To investigate this possibility we carried out incubations of alpha-crystallin with fructose 6-phosphate and prednisolone-21-hemisuccinate and investigated the effect of modification on chaperone ability. Fructose 6-phosphate and prednisolone-21-hemisuccinate compromised chaperone activity as measured by the beta L-crystallin thermal aggregation assay. Tryptophan fluorescence provided evidence that the structure of alpha-crystallin had been modified by both compounds.