Human £^D-crystallin aggregation induced by ultraviolet C irradiation is suppressed by resveratrol
Journal
Biochemical Engineering Journal
Journal Volume
78
Pages
189-197
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
Human £^D-crystallin, a 173-residue protein, is a major protein component of the human eye lens and associated with the development of juvenile and mature-onset cataracts. The study reported here is aimed at examining the effects of resveratrol on human £^D-crystallin aggregation and/or precipitation triggered by ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light. Our turbidity, electron microscopy (TEM), and SDS-PAGE results showed that, under UV-C irradiation, resveratrol was able to suppress the formation of human £^D-crystallin aggregates and the observed aggregation inhibition was dependent upon the concentration of resveratrol added. Through the use of Ellman reagent, the concentration of sulfhydryl group was observed to decrease upon prolonged UV-C irradiation. Also, there existed a positive correlation between the content of sulfhydryl group in human £^D-crystallin and the concentration of resveratrol. Furthermore, we propose that resveratrol's free radical scavenging ability is likely to be correlated with its mechanism of action in inhibiting human £^D-crystallin aggregation induced by UV-C irradiation. We believe this work may aid in the development of potential therapeutics for cataract. ? 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Subjects
Aggregation
Cataract
Free radical
Human £^D-crystallin
Resveratrol
Ultraviolet
Type
journal article