Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Role Of The Maillard Reaction In Aging Of Tissue Proteins: Advanced Glycation End Product-Dependent Increase In Imidazolium Cross-Links In Human Lens Proteins, Elisabeth Brinkmann Frye, Thorsten P. Degenhardt, Suzanne R. Thorpe, John W. Baynes

Faculty Publications

Dicarbonyl compounds such as glyoxal and methylglyoxal are reactive dicarbonyl intermediates in the nonenzymatic browning and cross-linking of proteins during the Maillard reaction. We describe here the quantification of glyoxal and methylglyoxal-derived imidazolium cross-links in tissue proteins. The imidazolium salt cross-links, glyoxal-lysine dimer (GOLD) and methylglyoxal-lysine dimer (MOLD), were measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and were present in lens protein at concentrations of 0. 02-0.2 and 0.1-0.8 mmol/mol of lysine, respectively. The lens concentrations of GOLD and MOLD correlated significantly with one another and also increased with lens age. GOLD and MOLD were present at significantly higher concentrations than the …