THE MAILLARD REACTION - A JOURNEY FROM THE DISCOVERY OF ADVANCED GLYCATION ENDPRODUCTS TO THEIR CHIEF CELLULAR RECEPTOR, RAGE: A MECHANISM UNDERLYING DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS AND THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE

摘要

An emerging theme in the biology of chronic disease is that modifications of proteins may play major roles in re-routing biological reactions from preservation of homeostasis to induction of tissue injury. Atop the list of potential modifications in diabetes that may significantly alter cellular properties is the process of glycation. From Maillard's discovery that heating proteins particularly in the presence of sugars resulted in their "browning," was born the field of AGEs. In recent years, the identification of the diverse settings in which AGEs may form has greatly expanded our understanding of how proteins subjected to fundamental post-translational modifications of proteins may experience both loss-and gain-of function properties.