Smaller oligomeric chaperones of α-crystallins (αA- and αB-) have received increasing
attention due to their improved therapeutic potential in preventing protein aggregating diseases.
Our previous study suggested that deleting 54–61 residues from the N-terminal domain (NTD) of
αB-crystallin (αB?54–61) decreases the oligomer size and increases the chaperone function. Several studies have also suggested that NTD plays a significant role in protein oligomerization and
chaperone function. The current study was undertaken to assess the effect of deleting conserved
21–28 residues from the activated αB?54–61 (to get αB?21–28, ?54–61) on the structure–function of
recombinant αB?21?... More
Smaller oligomeric chaperones of α-crystallins (αA- and αB-) have received increasing
attention due to their improved therapeutic potential in preventing protein aggregating diseases.
Our previous study suggested that deleting 54–61 residues from the N-terminal domain (NTD) of
αB-crystallin (αB?54–61) decreases the oligomer size and increases the chaperone function. Several studies have also suggested that NTD plays a significant role in protein oligomerization and
chaperone function. The current study was undertaken to assess the effect of deleting conserved
21–28 residues from the activated αB?54–61 (to get αB?21–28, ?54–61) on the structure–function of
recombinant αB?21–28, ?54–61. The αB?21–28, ?54–61 mutant shows an 80% reduction in oligomer
size and 3- to 25-fold increases in chaperone activity against model substrates when compared to
αB-WT. Additionally, the αB?21–28, ?54–61 was found to prevent β-amyloid (Aβ1–42) fibril formation in vitro and suppressed Aβ1–42-induced cytotoxicity in ARPE-19 cells in a more effective manner
than seen with αB-WT or αB?54–61. Cytotoxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection
studies with sodium iodate (SI) showed that the double mutant protein has higher anti-apoptotic
and anti-oxidative activities than the wild-type or αB?54–61 in oxidatively stressed cells. Our study
shows that the residues 21–28 and 54–61 in αB-crystallin contribute to the oligomerization and modulate chaperone function. The deletion of conserved 21–28 residues further potentiates the activated
αB?54–61. We propose that increased substrate affinity, altered subunit structure, and assembly
leading to smaller oligomers could be the causative factors for the increased chaperone activity of
αB?21–28, ?54–61