A modeling study of αB-crystallin in complex with zinc for seeking of correlations between chaperone-like activity and exposure of hydrophobic surfaces

Three-dimensional models for αB-crystallin and its complex with zinc were obtained by molecular homology modeling and quantum mechanical calculations in order to explain the effect of the metal on the chaperone-like activity of αB-crystallin. In fact, measurements of the chaperone-like activity of αB-crystallin revealed that it is significantly increased in presence of the zinc. The theoretical models allowed us to estimate the increased exposition of hydrophobic residues caused by the presence of zinc, suggesting a relationship between structural changes and the increased chaperone-like activity.