Research
The Mainali research group is primarily focused on elucidating the molecular basis of cataract and presbyopia development, which will provide new potential strategies and targets for developing therapeutic approaches to prevent and treat cataract and presbyopia.
- Cataract Research: Cataract is the formation of cloudiness in the lens of the eye that causes light scattering, leading to blurry vision and blindness. Currently, surgery is the only treatment option for cataracts. A great deal of evidence suggests that the amount of membrane-bound alpha-crystallin increases with age and cataract progression. We hypothesized that the high cholesterol content and cholesterol bilayer domains inhibit the binding of alpha-crystallin to lens membrane, which should protect against cataract formation and progression. The findings from our research will provide fundamental information on the molecular level, explaining the mechanism of alpha-crystallin binding to lens membranes and enabling us to understand the causes and mechanisms of congenital, early-onset, and age-related cataracts.
- Presbyopia Research: Presbyopia—the loss of the lens’ accommodative ability to focus on nearby objects—begins in most humans around and beyond the age of 40, regardless of any prior vision condition. Several discoveries suggest that age-related loss of lens elasticity is a key factor for presbyopia. The molecular mechanism for the development of presbyopia as age progresses is missing, which results in a significant obstacle in developing therapies for presbyopia. Our laboratory is investigating the role of cholesterol bilayer domains and crystallins (i.e., α-, β-, and γ-crystallin) membrane interactions in lens membrane elasticity in elucidating the molecular basis for presbyopia development, which will provide new potential strategies and targets for developing the therapeutic approach for preventing and treating presbyopia.
We apply integrated knowledge of biophysics, biochemistry, and biology in our research. Our laboratory uses advanced biophysical instruments, including electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS), fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and circular dichroism (CD) to address complex research questions.
Our research is funded by the National Institutes of Health R01 award (September 1, 2019- June 30, 2029). Undergraduate and graduate students interested in our research projects, please email me at laxmanmainali@boisestate.edu