MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, STRUCTURES AND FUNCTION OF CRYSTALLINS

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Tissues of the eye depend on families of specialized proteins. The major families of the lens are called crystallins. We have shown that in humans and other species crystallins have arisen by gene recruitement of proteins with functions that predate their role in lens. In some species these include enzymes recruited to serve an additionl structural role in lens transparency. Other familes are ubiquitous in vertebrates and seem to be derived from proteins with roles in stress and cell morphology.Currently we are actively examining the origins and functions of the ancient beta(b) and gamma (g) crystallins. Non-lens relatives with stress and cancer related functions have been identified. We have also shown that gS crystallin and bA2 crystallin have non-lens expression possibly relecting a non-lens function. We have found that gS is the locus of the Opj cataract in mouse and have evidence for loss of function in control of fiber cell structure. Recombinant wild type and mutant proteins for gS and human gD have been produced for functional studies. We have also found that two other novel genes overlap the gS gene in human and mouse. - Crystallins, function, evolution, gene recruitement