FEATURES

FAMILY

DESCRIPTION

Also known as CRYAA_HUMAN, CRYAA, CRYA1, HSPB4. Contributes to the transparency and refractive index of the lens (PubMed:18302245). In its oxidized form (absence of intramolecular disulfide bond), acts as a chaperone, preventing aggregation of various proteins under a wide range of stress conditions (PubMed:22120592, PubMed:31792453, PubMed:18199971, PubMed:19595763). Required for the correct formation of lens intermediate filaments as part of a complex composed of BFSP1, BFSP2 and CRYAA (PubMed:28935373). Heteropolymer composed of three CRYAA and one CRYAB subunits (PubMed:20836128). Inter-subunit bridging via zinc ions enhances stability, which is crucial as there is no protein turn over in the lens (PubMed:22890888). Can also form homodimers and homotetramers (dimers of dimers) which serve as the building blocks of homooligomers (PubMed:17909943, PubMed:31792453, PubMed:23255486). Within homooligomers, the zinc-binding motif is created from residues of 3 different molecules. His-100 and Glu-102 from one molecule are ligands of the zinc ion, and His-107 and His-154 residues from additional molecules complete the site with tetrahedral coordination geometry (By similarity). Part of a complex required for lens intermediate filament formation composed of BFSP1, BFSP2 and CRYAA (PubMed:28935373).

EXTERNAL LINKS

CRYAA

Alpha-crystallin A chain

CRYAA

Molecular Synopsis