title: Reconstructing normal alpha-crystallin from the modified cataractous protein.
abstract: alpha-Crystallin from human cataractous lenses is so extensively modified that it is unsuitable for structural studies. We have disassembled the protein and, from the remaining traces of unmodified polypeptides, reconstructed a more homogeneous and conformationally discrete molecule. We suggest that this approach may be particularly useful to studies of enzymology and molecular gerontology.
mesh_terms: D002386:Cataract / Q000473:pathology*; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003459:Crystallins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007526:Isoelectric Point; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000032:analysis / Q000196:embryology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D003459:Crystallins