Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis LAFUGA, Gene Center, LMU München, 81377 München, Germany.
Biomedical Center (BMC), Anatomy III-Cell Biology, Medical Faculty, LMU München, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
Cells. 2021 May 24;10(6):1306. doi: 10.3390/cells10061306.
Aging of human testis and associated cellular changes is difficult to assess. Therefore, we used a translational, non-human primate model to get insights into underlying cellular and biochemical processes. Using proteomics and immunohistochemistry, we analyzed testicular tissue of young (age 2 to 3) and old (age 10 to 12) common marmosets (). Using a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach, we identified 63,124 peptides, which could be assigned to 5924 proteins. Among them, we found proteins specific for germ cells and somatic cells, such as Leydig and Sertoli cells. Quantitative analysis showed 31 differentially abundant proteins, of which 29 proteins were more abundant in older animals. An increased abundance of anti-proliferative proteins, among them CDKN2A, indicate reduced cell proliferation in old testes. Additionally, an increased abundance of several small leucine rich repeat proteoglycans and other extracellular matrix proteins was observed, which may be related to impaired cell migration and fibrotic events. Furthermore, an increased abundance of proteins with inhibitory roles in smooth muscle cell contraction like CNN1 indicates functional alterations in testicular peritubular cells and may mirror a reduced capacity of these cells to contract in old testes.
人类睾丸的衰老及其相关的细胞变化难以评估。因此，我们使用了一种转化的非人类灵长类动物模型来深入了解潜在的细胞和生化过程。我们使用蛋白质组学和免疫组织化学分析了年轻（2 至 3 岁）和年老（10 至 12 岁）普通狨猴的睾丸组织。使用基于质谱的蛋白质组学方法，我们鉴定了 63124 种肽，可将其分配到 5924 种蛋白质中。其中，我们发现了特定于生殖细胞和体细胞的蛋白质，如睾丸间质细胞和成纤维细胞。定量分析显示有 31 种差异丰富的蛋白质，其中 29 种在老年动物中更为丰富。抗增殖蛋白的丰度增加，其中包括 CDKN2A，表明老年睾丸中的细胞增殖减少。此外，还观察到几种富含亮氨酸的小蛋白聚糖和其他细胞外基质蛋白的丰度增加，这可能与细胞迁移受损和纤维化事件有关。此外，平滑肌细胞收缩抑制蛋白如 CNN1 的丰度增加表明睾丸小管周围细胞的功能发生改变，这可能反映了老年睾丸中这些细胞收缩能力的降低。
