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Query: UMLS:C0027960 (mole)
 21,279 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Alpha-crystallin exhibits variable inhibition of several members of the chymotrypsin family of proteinases. Complete inhibition of elastase was obtained by the addition of either alpha-crystallin or a sonicated preparation of the water-insoluble fraction from bovine lens. Little or no inhibition was seen, however, with either beta-crystallin or bovine serum albumin under the same conditions. Complete binding of elastase was demonstrated by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography, and a direct correlation between binding and inhibition was obtained. This observation permitted us to do a Scatchard analysis of the inhibition data. Scatchard plots for the binding of elastase gave a biphasic response suggesting two separate binding sites. These sites had Kd values of 15 and 40 nM for alpha-crystallin and 6 and 42 nM for the bovine water-insoluble fraction. Similarly, a Dixon plot exhibited a Ki value of 3 nM and was consistent with non-competitive inhibition. One mole of alpha-crystallin (8 x 10(5) Da), or an equivalent amount of water-insoluble protein, bound from 13 to 19 mol of elastase which were about equally divided between the higher and lower affinity sites. Saturation studies confirmed 20 and 16 elastase binding sites per 8 x 10(5) Da for alpha-crystallin and water-insoluble protein, respectively. DFP-elastase was capable of binding to alpha-crystallin suggesting that a proteolytic cleavage was not required for complex formation. Stability measurements showed a linear return to 60% of the original activity over a 30-min period. Therefore, the interaction between elastase and alpha-crystallin resembles that of a heterologous protease:inhibitor complex in both binding and stability.
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PMID:Characterization of the elastase inhibitor properties of alpha-crystallin and the water-insoluble fraction from bovine lens. 154 28

In sharp contrast to the Darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection, the neutral theory claims that the overwhelming majority of evolutionary changes at the molecular level are caused by random fixation (due to random sampling drift in finite populations) of selectively neutral (i.e., selectively equivalent) mutants under continued inputs of mutations. The theory also asserts that most of the genetic variability within species at the molecular level (such as protein and DNA polymorphism) are selectively neutral or very nearly neutral and that they are maintained in the species by the balance between mutational input and random extinction. The neutral theory is based on simple assumptions, enabling us to develop mathematical theories based on population genetics to treat molecular evolution and variation in quantitative terms. The theory can be tested against actual observations. Neo-Darwinians continue to criticize the neutral theory, but evidence for it has accumulated over the last two decades. The recent outpouring of DNA sequence data has greatly strengthened the theory. In this paper, I review some recent observations that strongly support the neutral theory. They include such topics as pseudoglobin genes of the mouse, alpha A-crystallin genes of the blind mole rat, genes of influenza A virus and nuclear vs. mitochondrial genes of fruit flies. I also discuss such topics as the evolution of deviant coding systems in Mycoplasma, the origin of life and the unified understanding of molecular and phenotypic evolution. I conclude that since the origin of life on Earth, neutral evolutionary changes have predominated over Darwinian evolutionary changes, at least in number.
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PMID:The neutral theory of molecular evolution: a review of recent evidence. 195 33

The disulfide content of calf gamma-crystallin polypeptides has been investigated. The gamma-crystallin fraction of the soluble lens proteins was separated into five distinct polypeptides and characterized by isoelectric focusing, amino acid composition, and N-terminal sequence analysis to 25 residues. It has been demonstrated that 7 cysteines are present in gamma II, 4 to 5 cysteines in gamma IIIa, gamma IIIb, and gamma IV, and 6 cysteines in gamma I (beta s). Reduction of the total gamma-crystallin fraction with DTT resulted in an increase of approximately 1 to 1.5 mol of free SH per mole of protein. This increase in sulfhydryls was demonstrated to be contributed primarily by gamma II, the major polypeptide representing 50% of the total gamma-crystallin, which showed an increase of approximately 2.5 mol of sulfhydryl per mole of protein upon reduction. Insignificant disulfide content was present in gamma III and gamma IV and only a slight amount of disulfide was found in gamma I (beta s). The observed increase in sulfhydryl content upon reduction was not due to the presence of mixed disulfides of 2-mercaptoethanol, glutathione, or cysteine. The data are consistent with approximately 1 mol of intramolecular disulfide per mole of protein being present in gamma II. X-ray crystallography of gamma II has shown that the spatial location of Cys18 and Cys22 in the tertiary structure permits disulfide bond formation. Sequence analysis of the four major polypeptides of gamma-crystallin, gamma II, gamma IIIa, gamma IIIb, and gamma IV indicates that only gamma II has both Cys18 and Cys22. Cys18 is present in gamma IIIa, gamma IIIb, and gamma IV but Cys22 is replaced by His22. It is probable that the lack of disulfide in gamma IIIa, gamma IIIb, and gamma IV is due to the absence of Cys22.
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PMID:The disulfide content of calf gamma-crystallin. 336 84

The complete structure of the single-copy alpha A-crystallin gene of the blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) has been determined in order to elucidate the evolutionary effects of the loss of vision on a lens-specific protein and its gene. The alpha A-crystallin gene appears to have all the necessary transcriptional and translational signal sequences to be expressed in the rudimentary lens of the mole rat and gives rise to probably two protein products by means of alternative splicing, as in rodents with normal vision. Comparisons of the blind mole rat alpha A-crystallin sequence with alpha A sequences from other rodents reveal a considerable acceleration of the substitution rate at nonsynonymous positions in the mole rate lineage, which reflects a relaxation of selective constraints, but the acceleration is not to the extent that might be expected if the gene were now without any function. The remaining evolutionary constraints still imposed upon the mole rat alpha A-crystallin gene may possibly reflect the need for alpha-crystallin expression as an indispensable component in the developmental program of the atrophied eye.
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PMID:The lens protein alpha A-crystallin of the blind mole rat, Spalax ehrenbergi: evolutionary change and functional constraints. 347 58

The mole (Talpa europaea; Insectivora) and the mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi; Rodentia) both have degenerated eyes as a convergent adaptation to subterranean life. The rudimentary eye lenses of these blind mammals no longer function in a visual process. The crystallin genes, which display a lens-specific expression pattern, were studied in these blind mammals and in related species with normal eyes by hybridizing their genomic DNAs with probes obtained from cDNA clones for alpha A-, alpha B-, and beta Bp-crystallins from calf and gamma 3-crystallin from the rat. For all crystallin genes examined, the hybridization signals of mole and mole rat genomic DNA were comparable, respectively, with those of shrew and of rat and mouse, normal-vision representatives of the orders Insectivora and Rodentia. The expression of the crystallins at the protein level was tested by using antiserum specific for alpha-crystallin in immunofluorescence reactions on lens sections of mole and mole rat eyes and by using antisera against the beta- and gamma-crystallins on sections of the mole eye. All antisera gave positive fluorescence reactions exclusively with lens tissue of these blind mammals, indicating that the crystallins are still normally expressed despite the fact that these lenses have had no function in a visual process in these mammals for at least many million years. These findings apparently imply that some unknown selective advantage has conserved the crystallin genes and their expression after the loss of normal function of the lenses.
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PMID:Evolution of crystallins: expression of lens-specific proteins in the blind mammals mole (Talpa europaea) and mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi). 387 Aug 62

The multicatalytic proteinase complex (MPC) (proteasome) is a high-molecular-weight proteolytic enzyme found in eukaryotic cells and archaebacteria. Regulatory proteins that inhibit or activate the MPC have been described. Association with an ATPase complex alters the specificity of the multicatalytic proteinase complex to permit cleavage of ubiquitinylated proteins. Unidentified proteins have been observed in highly purified preparations of the multicatalytic proteinase complex. Based on immunoreactivity and N-terminal sequencing, we have identified heat-shock protein 90 as a major component of the multicatalytic proteinase complex prepared from 1-month, but not 2-year bovine lenses. alpha-Crystallin, a lens structural protein with chaperone activity, is also found in multicatalytic proteinase complex preparations. Both heat-shock protein 90 and alpha-crystallin inhibit hydrolysis of Cbz-Leu-Leu-Leu-MCA by the multicatalytic proteinase complex at a stoichiometry of 1 mol heat-shock protein per mole of MPC. Heat-shock proteins may interact with denatured proteins and facilitate their degradation. These studies give evidence for the involvement of heat-shock proteins in proteolysis by direct interaction with the multicatalytic proteinase complex.
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PMID:Age-dependent association of isolated bovine lens multicatalytic proteinase complex (proteasome) with heat-shock protein 90, an endogenous inhibitor. 748 11

There is a growing consensus that altered proteins are more susceptible to degradation than native proteins. The enhancement of degradation of damaged proteins may be of significance since it prevents the accumulation of damaged proteins in cells. Several proteolytic pathways have been discovered in the lens. These include ATP-independent, ATP-dependent and ATP/ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathways. However, the extent of involvement of these proteolytic pathways in degradation of damaged proteins is not well described. alpha-Crystallin was oxidized by exposure to 0.03-3.2 mol.OH (mol protein)-1. Modifications to the oxidized alpha-crystallin and proteolytic susceptibility of the oxidized alpha-crystallin were studied. Exposure to > 0.32 mol.OH per mole of subunit produced aggregates and fragments of alpha-crystallin. Changes in isoelectric points of the proteins were observed after exposure to 0.64 mol.OH (mol protein)-1. The extent of loss of tryptophan and sulfhydryl groups was related to the level of .OH-exposure. Carbonyl content increased progressively with increasing oxidation. When incubated with a supernatant of bovine lens epithelial cells, the .OH-modified proteins were proteolytically degraded up to three times faster than untreated alpha-crystallin. ATP stimulated the degradation of native alpha-crystallin and alpha-crystallin which was exposed to 1.6 mol.OH (mol subunit protein)-1 (alpha 1.6). Sixty-seven per cent and 100% of the ATP-dependent degradation of native alpha-crystallin and alpha 1.6 was ubiquitin-dependent, respectively. The data indicate that alpha-crystallins oxidized by .OH are recognized and degraded rapidly by cytoplasmic proteolytic systems in bovine lens epithelial cells. Both ATP-independent and ATP/ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic pathways are involved in the degradation of native and oxidized alpha-crystallin.
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PMID:Degradation of differentially oxidized alpha-crystallins in bovine lens epithelial cells. 755 69

The major eye-lens protein alpha-crystallin is known to possess a remarkable sequence homology to the low molecular weight heat-shock proteins and has been shown to protect several proteins against thermally induced aggregation. In this work we demonstrate that the rapid aggregation of rabbit muscle phosphoglycerate kinase during incubation at 52 degrees C is completely inhibited in presence of 1/3 moles alpha-crystallin monomer per mole enzyme. Upon irradiation by UV light, tryptophan fluorescence intensity of alpha-crystallin declines, reflecting the destruction of these residues. A remarkable correlation is revealed between the reduction in alpha-crystallin fluorescence during UV-irradiation and the loss of its ability to protect phosphoglycerate kinase against aggregation. Since a loss of tryptophan fluorescence in intact eye lenses in vivo has been demonstrated to occur upon exposure to UV light, as well as during aging, it is proposed that the enhanced rate of lens opacification and cataract formation, as well as the increased levels of damaged lens proteins, which accumulate under these conditions, are the result of the gradual loss of the chaperone-protein efficacy of alpha-crystallin.
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PMID:Photodegradation of tryptophan residues and attenuation of molecular chaperone activity in alpha-crystallin are correlated. 762 28

Bovine lens alpha-crystallin inhibited both porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) and human neutrophil elastase (HNE), but not in the same manner. PPE was immediately inhibited with a stoichiometry of 10 moles of PPE inhibited per mole of alpha-crystallin. The inhibition was markedly decreased by the addition of even low levels of salts. The inhibition was transient, as PPE activity returned to normal with a t1/2 of 30 min even in low salt. HNE required a short preincubation to show maximum inhibition with a stoichiometry of approximately one mole of HNE inhibited per mole of alpha-crystallin. The inhibition of HNE was only slightly decreased by the addition of 0.1 M salt, and HNE activity returned slowly exhibiting a t1/2 of 30 hrs under these conditions. The inhibition of each enzyme by alpha-crystallin was evaluated by Dixon plots giving Ki values of 1.5 nM for PPE and 0.25 nM for HNE. DFP-trypsin was able to compete with PPE for binding to alpha-crystallin and cause the release of PPE already bound to alpha-crystallin. The inhibition of HNE, however, was unaffected by the addition of DFP-trypsin. A mixture of HNE and alpha-crystallin in 0.1 M NaCl was incubated at 25 degrees C for 6 hours. Aliquots showed a slow, continuous cleavage of the alpha-crystallin subunits by SDS-PAGE, but little or no increase in HNE activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:A comparison of the inhibition of porcine pancreatic elastase and human neutrophil elastase by alpha-crystallin. 795 8

Bovine lens alpha-crystallin has recently been shown to function as a molecular chaperone by stabilizing proteins against heat denaturation (Horwitz, J. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 10449-10453). An investigation, using a variety of physico-chemical methods, is presented into the mechanism of stabilization. alpha-Crystallin exhibits properties of a surfactant. Firstly, a plot of conductivity of alpha-crystallin versus concentration shows a distinct inflection in its profile, i.e., a critical micelle concentration (cmc), over a concentration range from 0.15 to 0.17 mM. Gel chromatographic and 1H-NMR spectroscopic studies spanning the cmc indicate no change in the aggregated state of alpha-crystallin implying that a change in conformation of the aggregate occurs at the cmc. Secondly, spectrophotometric studies of the rate of heat-induced aggregation and precipitation of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), beta L- and gamma-crystallin in the presence of alpha-crystallin and a variety of synthetic surfactants show that stabilization against precipitation results from hydrophobic interactions with alpha-crystallin and monomeric anionic surfactants. Per mole of subunit or monomer, alpha-crystallin is the most efficient at stabilization. alpha-Crystallin, however, does not preserve the activity of ADH after heating. After heat inactivation, gel permeation HPLC indicates that ADH and alpha-crystallin form a high molecular weight aggregate. Similar results are obtained following incubation of beta L- and gamma-crystallin with alpha-crystallin. 1H-NMR spectroscopy of mixtures of alpha- and beta L-crystallin, in their native states, reveals that the C-terminus of beta B2-crystallin is involved in interaction with alpha-crystallin. In the case of gamma- and alpha-crystallin mixtures, a specific interaction occurs between alpha-crystallin and the C-terminal region of gamma B-crystallin, an area which is known from the crystal structure to be relatively hydrophobic and to be involved in intermolecular interactions. The short, flexible C-terminal extensions of alpha-crystallin are not involved in specific interactions with these proteins. It is concluded that alpha-crystallin interacts with native proteins in a weak manner. Once a protein has become denatured, however, the soluble complex with alpha-crystallin cannot be readily dissociated. In the aging lens this finding may have relevance to the formation of high molecular weight crystallin aggregates.
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PMID:Alpha-crystallin: molecular chaperone and protein surfactant. 814 60


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