title: Study of α-crystallin structure by small angle neutron scattering with contrast variation.
abstract: The structure of the oligomeric protein α-crystallin from bovine eye lens was investigated by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) with contrast variation. Based on the SANS curves, the match point for α-crystallin (43% D2O) and its average scattering length density at this point (2.4·10(10) cm(-2)) were evaluated. The radius of gyration and the distance distribution functions for α-crystallin were calculated. On the basis of these calculations, it was concluded that α-crystallin is characterized by homogeneous distribution of scattering density in the domains inaccessible for water penetration, and all polypeptide subunits in α-crystallin oligomers undergo equal deuteration. The latter indicates that all α-crystallin subunits are equally accessible for water and presumably for some other low molecular weight substances. These conclusions on the α-crystallin structure (homogeneous distribution of scattering density and equal accessibility of all subunits for low molecular weight substances) should be taken into account when elaborating α-crystallin quaternary structure models.
authors.affiliation: Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119334, Russia. a.krivandin@sky.chph.ras.ru
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Krivandin
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Murugova
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Kuklin
authors.forename: K O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Muranov
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Poliansky
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Aksenov
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ostrovsky
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D041961:Deuterium Exchange Measurement; D033363:Neutron Diffraction; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D013499:Surface Properties; D038201:alpha-Crystallins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D038201:alpha-Crystallins