Crystallin-αB as a stress marker in lens epithelial cells

Crystallin-αB as a stress marker in lens epithelial cells | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Crystallin-αB as a stress marker in lens epithelial cells Alessandro Cristoforetti, Giorgio Baldessari, Lizaveta Chychko, and 9 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6940731/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lens epithelial cells form a naturally organized monolayer with intrinsic spatial patterning, providing a robust ex vivo platform for precise cell segmentation and quantitative analysis. Using 3D confocal microscopy combined with advanced image processing pipelines, we examined the spatial distribution of proteins, specifically the stress-associated αB-crystallin (CRYAB) and βB2-crystallin (CRYBB2), in anterior lens capsules obtained from cataract patients. We observed a marked accumulation of CRYAB in epithelial cells at the capsule edge following both laser and manual capsulorhexis, indicating a localized stress response to surgical intervention. In contrast, CRYBB2 appeared unaffected by surgical manipulation. While both proteins exhibited consistent cytoplasmic localization, only CRYBB2 occasionally displayed exclusive nuclear accumulation. This model enables high-resolution mapping of protein dynamics in situ and identifies CRYAB as a potential early biomarker of ocular stress. Biological sciences/Biotechnology Biological sciences/Cell biology Biological sciences/Molecular biology Health sciences/Biomarkers Health sciences/Molecular medicine Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Diseases/Eye diseases Biological sciences/Biological techniques Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Biological models Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Cytological techniques Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Gene expression analysis Biological sciences/Biological techniques/Imaging Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files CristoforettiSupplementaryMaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 03 Oct, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 14 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 09 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 30 Jun, 2025 Editor invited by journal 26 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 20 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6940731","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":474233574,"identity":"b170cf50-016b-4d9d-886f-954dab1f5920","order_by":0,"name":"Alessandro Cristoforetti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Trento","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alessandro","middleName":"","lastName":"Cristoforetti","suffix":""},{"id":474233575,"identity":"2c2c6381-488b-4378-9f2b-e642a085fc45","order_by":1,"name":"Giorgio Baldessari","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Trento","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giorgio","middleName":"","lastName":"Baldessari","suffix":""},{"id":474233576,"identity":"9ccc7725-c98a-4a17-a105-75e18a8e3ed8","order_by":2,"name":"Lizaveta Chychko","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lizaveta","middleName":"","lastName":"Chychko","suffix":""},{"id":474233577,"identity":"02f4a989-a751-494b-9cdd-5c9bef1d0b5d","order_by":3,"name":"Ignacio Babiloni Chust","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Trento","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ignacio","middleName":"Babiloni","lastName":"Chust","suffix":""},{"id":474233578,"identity":"34d29696-19b3-418f-a8c4-be10dc89e346","order_by":4,"name":"Samuele Sartori","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Trento","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Samuele","middleName":"","lastName":"Sartori","suffix":""},{"id":474233579,"identity":"a45b6258-594c-46ec-9de1-550e565cfb92","order_by":5,"name":"Sonja Schickhardt","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sonja","middleName":"","lastName":"Schickhardt","suffix":""},{"id":474233580,"identity":"a868d190-de42-4313-8143-e9455f70ad50","order_by":6,"name":"Flavia Ravelli","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Trento","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Flavia","middleName":"","lastName":"Ravelli","suffix":""},{"id":474233581,"identity":"7d117c41-465e-4167-885e-59ed1bb6a310","order_by":7,"name":"Silvia Bertoluzza","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Research Council","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Silvia","middleName":"","lastName":"Bertoluzza","suffix":""},{"id":474233582,"identity":"eb3ea230-c1b0-45a6-ace6-272860fe2ab6","order_by":8,"name":"Matthias Carl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Trento","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matthias","middleName":"","lastName":"Carl","suffix":""},{"id":474233583,"identity":"5d88400a-ea30-4b74-988f-8102e3073fd0","order_by":9,"name":"Saadettin Sel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Saadettin","middleName":"","lastName":"Sel","suffix":""},{"id":474233584,"identity":"adc7fddf-ce7b-4755-a43b-5948a3644a12","order_by":10,"name":"Gerd U. 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