Immunoproteasome in Macaca fascicularis: No age-dependent modification of abundance and activity in the brain and insight into an in silico structural model

In this study, we investigated proteasome composition and activity in the brain of Macaca fascicularis, in order to test whether this nonhuman primate species might be a suitable animal model for anti-aging therapies in the central nervous system, addressed to the ubiquitin-proteasome system. We detected the catalytic β subunits of constitutive proteasome, as well as the PA28 regulator and a subunit of immunoproteasome (i.e., β1i [LMP2]), in seven adult, six old, and one young nonhuman primate brains. Subunit expression and proteasome activity were not influenced by the age of the animal in any of the brain regions (temporal and frontal cortex and cerebellum) we studied. However, an area-specific susceptibility to aged-related oxidative stress emerged. On the whole, the results suggest that, compared to humans, Macaca fascicularis primates may have a different age-dependent regulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system and, possibly, of neuroinflammation in the brain. An in silico model of the 20S immunoproteasome containing the Macaca fascicularis α and β subunits, present in database or identified by our group (i.e., LMP2), has been developed. Additional information was obtained by de novo sequencing of the β1 (delta) subunit of Macaca fascicularis. A comparison with humans suggests that in multiprotein complexes some functional subunits, such as α subunits, appear to be preferentially conserved during evolution.