Increased 26S proteasome non-ATPase regulatory subunit 1 in the aqueous humor of patients with age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the world. Evidence indicates that the suppression of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) contributes to the accumulation of toxic proteins and inflammation in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the functional abnormalities and/or the degeneration of which are believed to be the initiators and major pathologies of AMD. To identify new protein associations with the altered UPS in AMD, we used LC-ESI-MS/MS to perform a proteomic analysis of the aqueous humor (AH) of AMD patients and matched control subjects. Six UPS-related proteins were present in the AH of the patients and control subjects. Four of the proteins, including 26S proteasome non-ATPase regulatory subunit 1 (Rpn2), were increased in patients, according to semi-quantitative proteomic profiling. An LC-MRM assay revealed a significant increase of Rpn2 in 15 AMD patients compared to the control subjects, suggesting that this protein could be a biomarker for AMD.