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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Life Sciences

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J. A. Aquilina

Selected Works

2012

Lens

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Evidence For Specific Subunit Distribution And Interactions In The Quaternary Structure Of Α-Crystallin, Amie M. Morris, J. Andrew Aquilina Oct 2012

Evidence For Specific Subunit Distribution And Interactions In The Quaternary Structure Of Α-Crystallin, Amie M. Morris, J. Andrew Aquilina

J. A. Aquilina

The quaternary structure of α-crystallin is dynamic, a property which has thwarted crystallographic efforts towards structural characterization. In this study, we have used collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry to examine the architecture of the polydisperse assemblies of α-crystallin. For total α-crystallin isolated directly from fetal calf lens using size-based chromatography, the αB-crystallin subunit was found to be preferentially dissociated from the oligomers, despite being significantly less abundant overall than the αA-crystallin subunits. Furthermore, upon mixing molar equivalents of purified αA- and αB-crystallin, the levels of their dissociation were found to decrease and increase, respectively, with time. Interestingly though, dissociation of subunits …


Localization Of Low Molecular Weight Crystallin Peptides In The Aging Human Lens Using A Maldi Mass Spectrometry Imaging Approach, S. P. Su, Jason D. Mcarthur, J. A. Aquilina Jul 2012

Localization Of Low Molecular Weight Crystallin Peptides In The Aging Human Lens Using A Maldi Mass Spectrometry Imaging Approach, S. P. Su, Jason D. Mcarthur, J. A. Aquilina

J. A. Aquilina

Low molecular weight (LMW) peptides, derived from the breakdown of the major eye lens proteins, the crystallins, accumulate in the human lens with age. These LMW peptides are associated with age-related lens opacity and cataract, with some shown to inhibit the chaperone activity of α-crystallin. However, the mechanism(s) giving rise to the production of these peptides, as well as their distribution within the lens, are not well understood. In this study, we have mapped the distribution of these crystallin-derived peptides present in human lenses of different ages using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS). Our data showed that most of …


Evidence For Specific Subunit Distribution And Interactions In The Quaternary Structure Of Α-Crystallin, Amie M. Morris, J. Andrew Aquilina Jul 2012

Evidence For Specific Subunit Distribution And Interactions In The Quaternary Structure Of Α-Crystallin, Amie M. Morris, J. Andrew Aquilina

J. A. Aquilina

The quaternary structure of α-crystallin is dynamic, a property which has thwarted crystallographic efforts towards structural characterization. In this study, we have used collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry to examine the architecture of the polydisperse assemblies of α-crystallin. For total α-crystallin isolated directly from fetal calf lens using size-based chromatography, the αB-crystallin subunit was found to be preferentially dissociated from the oligomers, despite being significantly less abundant overall than the αA-crystallin subunits. Furthermore, upon mixing molar equivalents of purified αA- and αB-crystallin, the levels of their dissociation were found to decrease and increase, respectively, with time. Interestingly though, dissociation of subunits …