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Importance

The initial step in AGE formation is the nonenzymatic attachment of sugar aldehydes or ketones to the side chains of lysine, arginine, and possibly histidine (Vlassara et al., 1994). The lysine ε-amino-derived glycation product, or Schiff base, rearranges to form a more stable amino ketone intermediate known as the Amadori product. The presence of the Amadori product (Nagai et al., 1997), indicative of active glycation, can be demonstrated by its reduction to a stable epimeric mixture of 1-glycitol-lysine and 1-mannitol-lysine, known collectively as hexitol-lysine (HL).

Immunocytochemical and biochemical studies have suggested that one particular AGE, Nε-(Carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) is the major AGE that accumulates in vivo. Elevated serum levels of CML are detected in patients with diabetes mellitus (Schleicher et al., 1997) and CML is increased in the vascular tissues of diabetic rodents and humans (Meng et al., 1998).

Vlassara H, Bucala R, Striker L. Pathogenic effects of advanced glycosylation: biochemical, biologic, and clinical implications for diabetes and aging. Lab Invest. 1994 Feb;70(2):138-51

Nagai R, Ikeda K, Higashi T, Sano H, Jinnouchi Y, Araki T, Horiuchi S. Hydroxyl radical mediates N epsilon-(carboxymethyl)lysine formation from Amadori product. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1997 May 8;234(1):167-72.

Schleicher E.D., E. Wagner and A.G. Nerlich, Increased accumulation of the glycoxidation product N-(carboxymethyl)lysine in human tissues in diabetes and aging. J. Clin. Invest. 99 (1997), pp. 457¯468.

Meng J, Sakata N, Takebayashi S, Asano T, Futata T, Nagai R, Ikeda K, Horiuchi S, Myint T, Taniguchi N. Glycoxidation in aortic collagen from STZ-induced diabetic rats and its relevance to vascular damage. Atherosclerosis. 1998 Feb;136(2):355-65.

Citations