Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

NLM Logo

alpha-Crystallins MeSH Descriptor Data 2025


MeSH Heading
alpha-Crystallins
Tree Number(s)
D12.776.306.366.100
D12.776.580.157
Unique ID
D038201
RDF Unique Identifier
http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D038201
Scope Note
A subclass of crystallins that provides the majority of refractive power and translucency to the lens (LENS, CRYSTALLINE) in VERTEBRATES. Alpha-crystallins also act as molecular chaperones that bind to denatured proteins, keep them in solution and thereby maintain the translucency of the lens. The proteins exist as large oligomers that are formed from ALPHA-CRYSTALLIN A CHAIN and ALPHA-CRYSTALLIN B CHAIN subunits.
Entry Term(s)
Crystallins, alpha
alpha-Crystallin
Registry Numbers
0
Previous Indexing
Crystallins (1965-2002)
Public MeSH Note
2003; for ALPHA-CRYSTALLIN see CRYSTALLINS 1982-2002
History Note
2003; for ALPHA-CRYSTALLIN use CRYSTALLINS 1982-2002
Date Established
2003/01/01
Date of Entry
2002/07/02
Revision Date
2005/06/30
alpha-Crystallins Preferred
page delivered in 0.144s