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Photooxidized Products of Recombinant αA‐Crystallin and W9F Mutant

Abstract— Human lenses contain many photosensitizers that absorb light at wavelengths above 300 nm, most notably UVA light (320–400 nm). Kynurenine (Kyn) and 3‐hydroxykyn‐urenine (HK), two of the best‐known photosensitizers in the human lens, may play a significant role in photooxidation‐related changes in lens proteins, such as conformational change and aggregation. In vitro irradiation experiments with proteins indicate that the Trp residue (with maximal absorption at 295 nm) is more susceptible to photooxidation by UVB light (280–320 nm) than by UVA light, but most UVB light below 300 nm is screened by the cornea and little reaches the lens, especially the nuclear region where nuclear color develops. Therefore, if photooxidation is an important contributor to nuclear color or nuclear cataract, it must arise from a photosensitized reaction. In the present study, we use recombinant αA‐and its Trp‐deficient mutant W9F as models to study the effects of UVA irradiation in the presence of HK or Kyn and of UVB (300 nm) irradiation on α‐crystallins. αA‐crystallin showed a large decrease in Trp fluorescence and a large increase in non‐Trp (blue) fluorescence after the HK‐sensitized or 300 nm photooxidation. For the W9F mutant, a smaller decrease in protein fluorescence (Λex at 280 nm) and a smaller increase in blue fluorescence than for the wild‐type αA‐crystallin were observed. A decrease in the near‐UV CD was also observed for both photooxidized αA and the W9F mutant. The effect of Kyn sensitization is smaller than that of HK sensitization. A study of chaperone‐like activity indicated that only 300 nm photooxidized αA and the W9F mutant increased the ability to protect insulin from dithiothreitol‐induced aggregation. Thus, sensitized photooxidation can occur in amino acids other than Trp by UVA in the presence of HK or Kyn with effects similar to, albeit smaller than, those of direct UVB (300 nm) photooxidation.