Proteomic signature profiling in the cortex of dairy cattle unravels the physiology of brain aging

Flora Cozzolino; Luisa Canè; Maria Claudia Gatto; Ilaria Iacobucci; Luigi Sacchettino; Davide De Biase; Evaristo Di Napoli; Orlando Paciello; Luigi Avallone; Maria Monti; Danila d'Angelo; Francesco Napolitano

doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1277546

Proteomic signature profiling in the cortex of dairy cattle unravels the physiology of brain aging

Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Dec 7:15:1277546. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1277546. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Flora Cozzolino^#^{1

2}, Luisa Canè^#^{1

3}, Maria Claudia Gatto¹, Ilaria Iacobucci^{1

2}, Luigi Sacchettino⁴, Davide De Biase⁵, Evaristo Di Napoli⁴, Orlando Paciello⁴, Luigi Avallone⁴, Maria Monti^{1

2}, Danila d'Angelo⁴, Francesco Napolitano^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ CEINGE-Biotecnologie Avanzate "Franco Salvatore"-Via G. Salvatore, Naples, Italy.
² Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
³ Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
⁵ Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Aging is a physiological process occurring in all living organisms. It is characterized by a progressive deterioration of the physiological and cognitive functions of the organism, accompanied by a gradual impairment of mechanisms involved in the regulation of tissue and organ homeostasis, thus exacerbating the risk of developing pathologies, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Methods: In the present work, for the first time, the influence of aging has been investigated in the brain cortex of the Podolica cattle breed, through LC-MS/MS-based differential proteomics and the bioinformatic analysis approach (data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD044108), with the aim of identifying potential aging or longevity markers, also associated with a specific lifestyle.

Results and discussion: We found a significant down-regulation of proteins involved in cellular respiration, dendric spine development, synaptic vesicle transport, and myelination. On the other hand, together with a reduction of the neurofilament light chain, we observed an up-regulation of both GFAP and vimentin in the aged samples. In conclusion, our data pave the way for a better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying brain aging in grazing cattle, which could allow strategies to be developed that are aimed at improving animal welfare and husbandry practices of dairy cattle from intensive livestock.

Keywords: aging; bovine; brain; cortex; proteomics.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the #NEXTGENERATIONEU (NGEU), Ministry of University and Research (MUR), National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), project MNESYS (PE0000006) – A multiscale integrated approach to the study of the nervous system in health and disease (DN. 1553 11.10.2022).