Aging rhesus macaques display distinct fluid proteomic signatures of senescence and neuropathology
Plasma proteins tracked aging and amyloid pathology more closely than cerebrospinal fluid across the non-human primate lifespan.
GeroScience · Diniz GB et al. · Paper published 26 Sep 2026
Researchers profiled plasma and cerebrospinal fluid from 66 rhesus macaques across adult, pre-geriatric, and geriatric ages using targeted proteomics. They also evaluated brain tissue through immunohistochemistry and benchmarked findings against human reference samples. Plasma showed broader age-associated protein differences than cerebrospinal fluid. Markers of neurosenescence, including neurofilaments, GFAP, and TREM2, mirrored patterns seen in human aging. Systemic inflammatory and metabolic proteins, such as IL6 and GDF15, were higher in older animals. In brain tissue, geriatric macaques developed extensive amyloid deposits with sparse tau pathology. Notably, plasma amyloid-beta and phosphorylated tau tracked age and cortical amyloid burden more closely than cerebrospinal fluid markers did. Older macaques also formed distinct subgroups based on cerebrospinal fluid proteomes that chronological age alone could not explain.
Why it matters
Mapping non-human primate fluid proteomes helps clarify how normal brain aging diverges from early neuropathological decline. The alignment with human biomarker trajectories supports using macaque models to evaluate translational therapies for neurodegeneration.
Caveats
The study was conducted in a cohort of 66 non-human primates, which may not capture the full diversity of human aging. Additionally, the researchers used a targeted proteomic panel rather than an untargeted survey of the entire proteome.
Written from the paper’s abstract, and every claim checked against it before publishing. Read the paper for the full methods and data.
The paper
Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid proteomics reveal distinct patterns of senescence and neuropathology in aging rhesus macaques
Diniz GB, Schwartz K, Erices CT et al.
GeroScience · 26 Sep 2026 · Peer-reviewed
- Relevance
- Core geroscience
- News value
- Notable
- Evidence
- Animals
- Status
- Peer-reviewed
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