Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 97, Issue 5, Pages 1993-1998Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.040554397
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Funding
- NEI NIH HHS [EY05127, R01 EY010535, R37 EY005127, R01 EY005127, EY10535] Funding Source: Medline
- NIGMS NIH HHS [R01 GM017980, F32 GM017980, GM17980] Funding Source: Medline
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In a recent paper, patients with a progressive juvenile-onset hereditary cataract have been reported to have a point mutation in the human gamma D crystallin gene (Stephan, D. A., Gillanders, E., Vanderveen, D., Freas-Lutz, D., Wistow, C., Baxevanis, A. D., Robbins, C. M., VanAuken, A., Quesenberry, M. I., Bailey-Wilson, J., ef al. (1999) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 1008-1012). This mutation results in the substitution of Arg-14 in the native protein by a Cys residue. It is not understood how this mutation leads to cataract. We have expressed recombinant wild-type human gamma D crystallin (HGD) and its Arg-14 to Cys mutant (R14C) in Escherichia coli and show that R14C forms disulfide-linked oligomers, which markedly raise the phase separation temperature of the protein solution. Eventually, R14C precipitates. In contrast, HGD slowly forms only disulfide-linked dimers and no oligomers. These data strongly suggest that the observed cataract is triggered by the thiol-mediated aggregation of R14C. The aggregation profiles of HGD and R14C are consistent with our homology modeling studies that reveal that R14C contains two exposed cysteine residues, whereas HGD has only one. Our CD, fluorescence, and differential scanning calorimetric studies show that HGD and R14C have nearly identical secondary and tertiary structures and stabilities. Thus, contrary to current views, unfolding or destabilization of the protein is not necessary for cataractogenesis.
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