Human γD-crystallin aggregation induced by ultraviolet C irradiation is suppressed by resveratrol

• UV-C induced human γD-crystallin aggregation is suppressed by resveratrol.
• Resveratrol's anti-aggregating potency relates to its radical scavenging ability.
• UV-C irradiation attenuates the sulfhydryl group content in human γD-crystallin.
• Addition of resveratrol decreases the UV-C induced reduction in sulfhydryl content.

Human γD-crystallin, a 173-residue protein, is a major protein component of the human eye lens and associated with the development of juvenile and mature-onset cataracts. The study reported here is aimed at examining the effects of resveratrol on human γD-crystallin aggregation and/or precipitation triggered by ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light. Our turbidity, electron microscopy (TEM), and SDS–PAGE results showed that, under UV-C irradiation, resveratrol was able to suppress the formation of human γD-crystallin aggregates and the observed aggregation inhibition was dependent upon the concentration of resveratrol added. Through the use of Ellman reagent, the concentration of sulfhydryl group was observed to decrease upon prolonged UV-C irradiation. Also, there existed a positive correlation between the content of sulfhydryl group in human γD-crystallin and the concentration of resveratrol. Furthermore, we propose that resveratrol's free radical scavenging ability is likely to be correlated with its mechanism of action in inhibiting human γD-crystallin aggregation induced by UV-C irradiation. We believe this work may aid in the development of potential therapeutics for cataract.