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ABSTRACT: Background
Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide; however, there is no evidence regarding the direct formation of cataracts. At present, there is no treatment method other than surgery to prevent the formation or progression of cataracts.Objective
Understanding the protein changes during various stages of cataracts might help realize the mechanism of the formation and progression of cataracts.Methods
Lens materials were collected from cataract surgery. Cataracts were classified according to lens opacity using the gradation of the Lens Opacities Classification System. Lens proteins were separated by 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Protein spots were visualized by Coomassie blue staining, and expression patterns were analyzed. Protein spots of interest were excised from 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels, digested in situ with trypsin, and analyzed by mass spectrometry and liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry.Results
Crystallin was the major protein in the cataract lens, and αA, βB1, αB, and βA4 were the dominant types. Crystallin αB and βA4 increased with the formation of lens opacity. Moreover, phosphorylation and truncation of these proteins increased with the progression of cataracts.Conclusion
Crystallin αB and βA4 and phosphorylation and truncation of crystallin in the lens might contribute to the formation of cataracts. In contrast, acetylation was not dominant in the progression of cataracts and did not play major role in the formation of cataracts.
SUBMITTER: Lin HJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3862202 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Lin Hui-Ju HJ Lai Chien-Chen CC Huang Shiuan-Yi SY Hsu Wei-Yi WY Tsai Fuu-Jen FJ
Current therapeutic research, clinical and experimental 20130601
<h4>Background</h4>Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide; however, there is no evidence regarding the direct formation of cataracts. At present, there is no treatment method other than surgery to prevent the formation or progression of cataracts.<h4>Objective</h4>Understanding the protein changes during various stages of cataracts might help realize the mechanism of the formation and progression of cataracts.<h4>Methods</h4>Lens materials were collected from cataract surgery. Ca ...[more]