Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Effect Of Collagen Turnover On The Accumulation Of Advanced Glycation End Products, Nicole Verzijl, Jeroen Degroot, Suzanne R. Thorpe, Ruud A. Bank, J. Nikki Shaw, Timothy J. Lyons, Johannes Wj Bijlsma, Floris Pjg Lafeber, John W. Baynes, Johan M. Tekoppele

Faculty Publications

Collagen molecules in articular cartilage have an exceptionally long lifetime, which makes them susceptible to the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). In fact, in comparison to other collagen-rich tissues, articular cartilage contains relatively high amounts of the AGE pentosidine. To test the hypothesis that this higher AGE accumulation is primarily the result of the slow turnover of cartilage collagen, AGE levels in cartilage and skin collagen were compared with the degree of racemization of aspartic acid (% D-Asp, a measure of the residence time of a protein). AGE (Ne- (carboxymethyl)lysine, Ne-(carboxyethyl)lysine, and pentosidine) and % D-Asp concentrations increased …