Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics (Aug 2022)

Identification of Age-associated Proteins and Functional Alterations in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium

  • Xiuxiu Jin,
  • Jingyang Liu,
  • Weiping Wang,
  • Jiangfeng Li,
  • Guangming Liu,
  • Ruiqi Qiu,
  • Mingzhu Yang,
  • Meng Liu,
  • Lin Yang,
  • Xiaofeng Du,
  • Bo Lei

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 4
pp. 633 – 647

Abstract

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Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) has essential functions, such as nourishing and supporting the neural retina, and is of vital importance in the pathogenesis of age-related retinal degeneration. However, the exact molecular changes of RPE during aging remain poorly understood. Here, we isolated human primary RPE (hRPE) cells from 18 eye donors distributed over a wide age range (10–67 years old). A quantitative proteomic analysis was performed to analyze changes in their intracellular and secreted proteins. Age-group related subtypes and age-associated proteins were revealed and potential age-associated mechanisms were validated in ARPE-19 and hRPE cells. The results of proteomic data analysis and verifications suggest that RNF123- and RNF149-related protein ubiquitination plays an important role in protecting hRPE cells from oxidative damage during aging. In older hRPE cells, apoptotic signaling-related pathways were up-regulated, and endoplasmic reticulum organization was down-regulated both in the intracellular and secreted proteomes. Our work paints a detailed molecular picture of hRPE cells during the aging process and provides new insights into the molecular characteristics of RPE during aging and under other related clinical retinal conditions.

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