Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning

BackgroundIn conjunction with age, aqueous humor (AH) proteomics can affect the occurrence and development of age-related eye diseases, which are poorly understood.ObjectiveWe characterized the proteomic changes in AH throughout the aging process to better understand the aging mechanisms of the intr...

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Main Authors: Xiaosheng Huang, Tiansheng Chou, Xinhua Liu, Kun Zeng, Liangnan Sun, Zonghui Yan, Shaoyi Mei, Wenqun Xi, Zongyi Zhan, Yi Liu, Songguo Dong, Siqi Liu, Jun Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1583330/full
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author Xiaosheng Huang
Tiansheng Chou
Tiansheng Chou
Xinhua Liu
Kun Zeng
Liangnan Sun
Zonghui Yan
Shaoyi Mei
Wenqun Xi
Zongyi Zhan
Yi Liu
Songguo Dong
Siqi Liu
Jun Zhao
author_facet Xiaosheng Huang
Tiansheng Chou
Tiansheng Chou
Xinhua Liu
Kun Zeng
Liangnan Sun
Zonghui Yan
Shaoyi Mei
Wenqun Xi
Zongyi Zhan
Yi Liu
Songguo Dong
Siqi Liu
Jun Zhao
author_sort Xiaosheng Huang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundIn conjunction with age, aqueous humor (AH) proteomics can affect the occurrence and development of age-related eye diseases, which are poorly understood.ObjectiveWe characterized the proteomic changes in AH throughout the aging process to better understand the aging mechanisms of the intraocular environment.MethodsWe analyzed the AH proteomes of 33 older and 19 younger individuals using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, from which we clustered similar expression trajectories of AH proteomics using local regression analysis. Aging proteins (APs) and their functional enrichment were evaluated using various statistical and bioinformatics methods, while aging modulators were predicted using multiple machine-learning models.ResultsAH proteomic expression patterns exhibited various types of linear and nonlinear changes across the age groups. A set of 179 proteins identified as significant APs were enriched in various eye processes, such as detoxification, eye development, negative regulation of hydrolase activity, and humoral immune response. According to AH proteomics, hallmarks of aging include oxidative damage, defective extracellular matrices, and loss of proteostasis. A total of 11 APs were considered senescence signatures for predicting AH age with strong predictive ability. Furthermore, 22 APs were classified as modulators that may affect the aging process in the eye.ConclusionThese findings establish a framework for age-related changes in the AH proteome and provide potential senescence biomarkers and therapeutic targets for age-related eye diseases.
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spelling doaj-art-a4b5f977751f4e588d9aac92ea3073262025-08-20T03:13:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology2296-634X2025-07-011310.3389/fcell.2025.15833301583330Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learningXiaosheng Huang0Tiansheng Chou1Tiansheng Chou2Xinhua Liu3Kun Zeng4Liangnan Sun5Zonghui Yan6Shaoyi Mei7Wenqun Xi8Zongyi Zhan9Yi Liu10Songguo Dong11Siqi Liu12Jun Zhao13Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Proteomics, Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, ChinaNational Medical Metabolomics International Collaborative Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaShenzhen Eye Medical Center, Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Proteomics, Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI)-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Shenzhen People’s Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, ChinaBackgroundIn conjunction with age, aqueous humor (AH) proteomics can affect the occurrence and development of age-related eye diseases, which are poorly understood.ObjectiveWe characterized the proteomic changes in AH throughout the aging process to better understand the aging mechanisms of the intraocular environment.MethodsWe analyzed the AH proteomes of 33 older and 19 younger individuals using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, from which we clustered similar expression trajectories of AH proteomics using local regression analysis. Aging proteins (APs) and their functional enrichment were evaluated using various statistical and bioinformatics methods, while aging modulators were predicted using multiple machine-learning models.ResultsAH proteomic expression patterns exhibited various types of linear and nonlinear changes across the age groups. A set of 179 proteins identified as significant APs were enriched in various eye processes, such as detoxification, eye development, negative regulation of hydrolase activity, and humoral immune response. According to AH proteomics, hallmarks of aging include oxidative damage, defective extracellular matrices, and loss of proteostasis. A total of 11 APs were considered senescence signatures for predicting AH age with strong predictive ability. Furthermore, 22 APs were classified as modulators that may affect the aging process in the eye.ConclusionThese findings establish a framework for age-related changes in the AH proteome and provide potential senescence biomarkers and therapeutic targets for age-related eye diseases.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1583330/fullproteomesaqueous humoraging proteinsenescence modulatormachine learning
spellingShingle Xiaosheng Huang
Tiansheng Chou
Tiansheng Chou
Xinhua Liu
Kun Zeng
Liangnan Sun
Zonghui Yan
Shaoyi Mei
Wenqun Xi
Zongyi Zhan
Yi Liu
Songguo Dong
Siqi Liu
Jun Zhao
Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
proteomes
aqueous humor
aging protein
senescence modulator
machine learning
title Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
title_full Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
title_fullStr Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
title_full_unstemmed Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
title_short Revealing age-related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
title_sort revealing age related changes in the intraocular microenvironment and senescence modulators using aqueous humor proteomics and machine learning
topic proteomes
aqueous humor
aging protein
senescence modulator
machine learning
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1583330/full
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