Molecular Basis of Maillard Amide-Advanced Glycation End Product (AGE) Formation in Vivo

The Maillard reaction in vivo entails alteration of proteins or free amino acids by non-enzymatic glycation or glycoxidation. The resulting modifications are called advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and play a prominent role in various pathologies, including normoglycemic uremia. Recently, we established a new class of lysine amide modifications in vitro. Now, human plasma levels of the novel amide-AGEs N-6-acetyl lysine, N-6-formyl lysine, N-6-lactoyl lysine, and N-6-glycerinyl lysine were determined by means of LC-MS/MS. They were significantly higher in uremic patients undergoing hemodialysis than in healthy subjects. Model reactions with N-1-t-butoxycarbonyllysine under physiological conditions confirmed 1-deoxy-D-erythro-hexo-2,3-diulose as an immediate precursor. Because formation of N-6-formyl lysine from glucose responded considerably to the presence of oxygen, glucosone was identified as another precursor. Comparison of the in vivo results with the model experiments enabled us to elucidate possible formation pathways linked to Maillard chemistry. The results strongly suggest a major participation of non-enzymatic Maillard mechanisms on amide-AGE formation pathways in vivo, which, in the case of N-6-acetyl lysine, parallels enzymatic processes.