Electron microscopy of native and reconstituted alpha crystallin aggregates

Abstract

The size and shape of native alpha crystallin aggregates extracted at either 4°C (α-crystallin) or 37°C (α_m-crystallin), were compared with each other, as well as with aggregates reconstituted from either pure αA or αB subunits using electron microscopy. The αB aggregates were the most uniform in size (about 9 nm in diameter) and the best stained. αA particles were about the same size as the αB, but the population distribution was broader and some indication of interparticle association was observed. α_c particles exhibited a bimodal distribution, with one peak greater than the reconstituted particles and the other about the same size; α_m was smaller than the reconstituted structures.