Glucosepane - Role in Aging

Role in Aging

Aging leads to progressive loss of elasticity and stiffening of tissues rich in the ECM such as joints, cartilage, arteries, lungs and skin. It has been shown that these effects are brought about by the accumulation of cross-links in the ECM on long-lived proteins. Studies done on glucosepane by the Monnier group have shown that the level of glucosepane cross-links in human collagen in the ECM increases progressively with age and at a more rapid pace in people with diabetes, thus suggesting the role of glucosepane in the long-term effects associated with diabetes and aging such as arteriosclerosis, joint stiffening and skin wrinkling. In fact, they report that in the ECM of the skin of a non-diabetic 90-year-old, glucosepane accounts for about 50 times the protein cross-linking as all other forms of protein cross-linking. Further, the build up of cross-links such as glucosepane within and between proteins is shown to reduce proteolytic degradation in the ECM. This leads to increased cross-link accumulation and is thought to be linked to the thickening of basement membranes in capillaries, glomeruli, lens, and lungs.