The primary function of the eye lens is to focus light on the retina. The major proteins in the lensa, b, and g-crystallins-are constantly subjected to age-related changes such as oxidation, deamidation, truncation, glycation, and methylation. Such age-related modifications are cumulative and affect crystallin structure and function. With time, the modified crystallins aggregate, causing the lens to increasingly scatter light on the retina instead of focusing light on it and causing the lens to lose its transparency gradually and become opaque. Age-related lens opacity, or cataract, is the major cause of blindness worldwide. We review deamidation, and glycation that occur in the lenses during aging keeping in mind the structural and functional changes that these modifications bring about in the proteins. In addition, we review proteolysis and discuss recent observations on how crystallin fragments generated in vivo, through their anti-chaperone activity may cause crystallin aggregation in aging lenses. We also review hyperbaric oxygen treatment induced guinea pig and 'humanized' ascorbate transporting mouse models as suitable options for studies on age-related changes in lens proteins.

Analysis of aged and cataract lenses shows the presence of increased amounts of crystallin fragments in the high molecular weight aggregates of water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions. However, the significance of accumulation and interaction of low molecular weight crystallin fragments in aging and cataract development is not clearly understood. In this study, 23 low molecular mass (<3.5-kDa) peptides in the urea-soluble fractions of young, aged, and aged cataract human lenses were identified by mass spectroscopy. Two peptides, ␣B-(1-18) (MDIAIHHPWIRRPFFPFH) and ␤A3/A1-(59 -74) (SD(N)AYHIERLMSFRPIC), present in aged and cataract lens but not young lens, and a third peptide, ␥S-(167-178) (SPAVQSFRRIVE) present in all three lens groups were synthesized to study the effects of interaction of these peptides with intact ␣-, ␤-, and ␥-crystallins and alcohol dehydrogenase, a protein used in aggregation studies. Interaction of ␣B-(1-18) and ␤A3/A1-(59 -74) peptides increased the scattering of light by ␤-and ␥-crystallin and alcohol dehydrogenase. The ability of ␣-crystallin subunits to function as molecular chaperones was significantly reduced by interaction with ␣B-(1-18) and ␤A3/ A1-(59 -74) peptides, whereas ␥S peptide had no effect on chaperone-like activity of ␣-crystallin. The ␤A3/A1-(59 -74 peptide caused a 5.64-fold increase in ␣B-crystallin oligomeric mass and partial precipitation. Replacing hydrophobic residues in ␣B-(1-18) and ␤A3/A1-(59 -74) peptides abolished their ability to induce crystallin aggregation and light scattering. Our study suggests that interaction of crystallin-derived peptides with intact crystallins could be a key event in age-related protein aggregation in lens and cataractogenesis.

BackgroundThe eye lens is composed of fiber cells that are filled with α-, β- and γ-crystallins. The primary function of crystallins is to maintain the clarity of the lens through ordered interactions as well as through the chaperone-like function of α-crystallin. With aging, the chaperone function of α-crystallin decreases, with the concomitant accumulation of water-insoluble, light-scattering oligomers and crystallin-derived peptides. The role of crystallin-derived peptides in age-related lens protein aggregation and insolubilization is not understood.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe found that αA-crystallin-derived peptide, 66 SDRDKFVIFLDVKHF 80, which accumulates in the aging lens, can inhibit the chaperone activity of α-crystallin and cause aggregation and precipitation of lens crystallins. Age-related change in the concentration of αA-(66-80) peptide was estimated by mass spectrometry. The interaction of the peptide with native crystallin was studied by multi-angle light scattering and fluorescence methods. High molar ratios of peptide-to-crystallin were favourable for aggregation and precipitation. Time-lapse recordings showed that, in the presence of αA-(66-80) peptide, α-crystallin aggregates and functions as a nucleus for protein aggregation, attracting aggregation of additional α-, β- and γ-crystallins. Additionally, the αA-(66-80) peptide shares the principal properties of amyloid peptides, such as β-sheet structure and fibril formation.Conclusions/SignificanceThese results suggest that crystallin-derived peptides such as αA-(66-80), generated in vivo, can induce age-related lens changes by disrupting the structure and organization of crystallins, leading to their insolubilization. The accumulation of such peptides in aging lenses may explain a novel mechanism for age-related crystallin aggregation and cataractogenesis.

α-Crystallin is a major protein in the human lens that is perceived to help to maintain the transparency of the lens through its chaperone function. In this study, we demonstrate that many lens proteins including αA-crystallin are acetylated in vivo. We found that K70 and K99 in αA-crystallin and, K92 and K166 in αB-crystallin are acetylated in the human lens.To determine the effect of acetylation on the chaperone function and structural changes, αA-crystallin was acetylated using acetic anhydride. The resulting protein showed strong immunoreactivity against a Nε-acetyllysine antibody, which was directly related to the degree of acetylation. When compared to the unmodified protein, the chaperone function of the in vitro acetylated αA-crystallin was higher against three of the four different client proteins tested. Because a lysine (residue 70; K70) in αA-crystallin is acetylated in vivo, we generated a protein with an acetylation mimic, replacing Lys70 with glutamine (K70Q). The K70Q mutant protein showed increased chaperone function against three client proteins compared to the Wt protein but decreased chaperone function against γ-crystallin. The acetylated protein displayed higher surface hydrophobicity and tryptophan fluorescence, had altered secondary and tertiary structures and displayed decreased thermodynamic stability. Together, our data suggest that acetylation of αA-crystallin occurs in the human lens and that it could affect the chaperone function of αA-crystallin.