Purification and crystallization of mammalian lens gamma-crystallins.

Monomeric crystallins, beta s and several members of the gamma-crystallin family, occur in different relative proportions in a way which is related to the age of the lens cells. Methods of purification of large amounts of these different low molecular weight protein components from young and old bovine lenses are described along with details of crystallization of several gamma-fractions. Purification procedures have been developed for rabbit gamma-crystallins. The chromatographic methods achieve separation of several bovine and rabbit gamma-crystallins which have very similar electrophoretic mobilities. However, on storage, many electrophoretic variants are generated from some of these fractions.