Alpha-cristallin – Inyushin Lab

Immunolocalization of αA-crystallin and glutamine synthetase (GS) within the Müller glial cell compartments. a: The expression of αA-crystallin (green) in the rat retina inner nuclear layer (INL), the outer nuclear layer (ONL), and the photoreceptor inner/outer segment (OS) region. b: Enlarged view of the area in the red square in (a). c: INL: expression of nuclear staining (DAPI, blue), glial marker GS (red), and merging of αA-crystallin (green) and GS (red). d: ONL and the photoreceptor inner/OS region: expression of nuclear staining (DAPI, blue), glial marker GS (red), and merging of αA-crystallin (green) and GS (red). Scale bar is 15 μm (Fig.3 from: Localization of αA-Crystallin in Rat Retinal Müller Glial Cells and Photoreceptors,
Astrid Zayas-Santiago ^(a1), David S. Ríos ^(a2), Lidia V. Zueva ^(a3) and Mikhail Y. Inyushin ^(a4)
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927618015118

Transparent cells in the vertebrate optical tract, such as lens fiber cells and corneal epithelium cells, have specialized proteins that somehow permit only a low level of light scattering in their cytoplasm. It has been shown that both cell types contain (1) beaded intermediate filaments as well as (2) α-crystallin globulins. It is known that genetic and chemical alterations to these specialized proteins induce cytoplasmic opaqueness and visual complications. Crystallins were described previously in the retinal Müller cells of frogs. In the present work, using immunocytochemistry, fluorescence confocal imaging, and immuno-electron microscopy, we found that αA-crystallins are present in the cytoplasm of retinal Müller cells and in the photoreceptors of rats. Given that Müller glial cells were recently described as “living light guides” as were photoreceptors previously, we suggest that αA-crystallins, as in other highly transparent cells, allow Müller cells and photoreceptors to minimize intraretinal scattering during retinal light transmission.