Cryaa - crystallin, alpha A

This gene encodes subunit a, one of two subunits of alpha-crystallin, which is a high molecular weight, soluble aggregate and is a member of the small heat shock protein family. The encoded protein has been identified as a moonlighting protein based on its ability to perform mechanistically distinct functions. It acts as a molecular chaperone and is the major protein in the eye lens, maintaining the transparency and refractive index of the lens. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2014]