Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a very complex and multifactorial metabolic disease characterized by insulin resistance and β cell failure leading to elevated blood glucose levels. Hyperglycemia ...is suggested to be the main cause of diabetic complications, which not only decrease life quality and expectancy, but are also becoming a problem regarding the financial burden for health care systems. Therefore, and to counteract the continually increasing prevalence of diabetes, understanding the pathogenesis, the main risk factors, and the underlying molecular mechanisms may establish a basis for prevention and therapy. In this regard, research was performed revealing further evidence that oxidative stress has an important role in hyperglycemia-induced tissue injury as well as in early events relevant for the development of T2DM. The formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), a group of modified proteins and/or lipids with damaging potential, is one contributing factor. On the one hand it has been reported that AGEs increase reactive oxygen species formation and impair antioxidant systems, on the other hand the formation of some AGEs is induced per se under oxidative conditions. Thus, AGEs contribute at least partly to chronic stress conditions in diabetes. As AGEs are not only formed endogenously, but also derive from exogenous sources, i.e., food, they have been assumed as risk factors for T2DM. However, the role of AGEs in the pathogenesis of T2DM and diabetic complications-if they are causal or simply an effect-is only partly understood. This review will highlight the involvement of AGEs in the development and progression of T2DM and their role in diabetic complications.
Aging is one of the biggest risk factors for the major prevalent diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration and cancer, but due to the complex and multifactorial nature of the aging ...process, the molecular mechanisms underlying age-related diseases are not yet fully understood. Research has been intensive in the last years aiming to characterize the pathophysiology of aging and develop therapies to fight age-related diseases. In this context advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have received attention. AGEs, when accumulated in tissues, significantly increase the level of inflammation in the body which has long been associated with the development of cancer. Here we discuss the classical settings promoting AGE formation, as well as reduction strategies, occurrence and relevance of AGEs in cancer tissues and the role of AGE-interaction with the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) in cancer initiation and progression.
Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the development of the aging process and age dependent diseases. Both are closely connected to disturbances of proteostasis by protein oxidation and an ...impairment of the proteasomal system. The final consequence is the accumulation of highly cross-linked undegradable aggregates such as lipofuscin. These aggregates of damaged proteins are detrimental to normal cell functions. Here we provide an overview about effect of these aggregates on the proteasomal system, followed by transcription factor activation and loss of cell viability. Furthermore, findings on the mechanism of radical genesis, proteasomal inhibition and the required components of lipofuscin formation were resumed.
Generation of reactive oxygen species and related oxidants is an inevitable consequence of life. Proteins are major targets for oxidation reactions, because of their rapid reaction rates with ...oxidants and their high abundance in cells, extracellular tissues, and body fluids. Additionally, oxidative stress is able to degrade lipids and carbohydrates to highly reactive intermediates, which eventually attack proteins at various functional sites. Consequently, a wide variety of distinct posttranslational protein modifications is formed by protein oxidation, glycoxidation, and lipoxidation. Reversible modifications are relevant in physiological processes and constitute signaling mechanisms (“redox signaling”), while non-reversible modifications may contribute to pathological situations and several diseases. A rising number of publications provide evidence for their involvement in the onset and progression of diseases as well as aging processes. Certain protein oxidation products are chemically stable and formed in large quantity, which makes them promising candidates to become biomarkers of oxidative damage. Moreover, progress in the development of detection and quantification methods facilitates analysis time and effort and contributes to their future applicability in clinical routine. The present review outlines the most important classes and selected examples of oxidative protein modifications, elucidates the chemistry beyond their formation and discusses available methods for detection and analysis. Furthermore, the relevance and potential of protein modifications as biomarkers in the context of disease and aging is summarized.
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•Formation and removal of reactive oxygen species is balanced under normal conditions.•Protein modifications have been linked to a wide range of pathologies.•Mass spectrometry is the most accurate method to study protein modifications.•The relevance as biomarkers for disease and aging depends on chemical properties.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated constantly within cells at low concentrations even under physiological conditions. During aging the levels of ROS can increase due to a limited capacity of ...antioxidant systems and repair mechanisms. Proteins are among the main targets for oxidants due to their high rate constants for several reactions with ROS and their abundance in biological systems. Protein damage has an important influence on cellular viability since most protein damage is non-repairable, and has deleterious consequences on protein structure and function. In addition, damaged and modified proteins can form cross-links and provide a basis for many senescence-associated alterations and may contribute to a range of human pathologies.
Two proteolytic systems are responsible to ensure the maintenance of cellular functions: the proteasomal (UPS) and the lysosomal system. Those degrading systems provide a last line of antioxidative protection, removing irreversible damaged proteins and recycling amino acids for the continuous protein synthesis. But during aging, both systems are affected and their proteolytic activity declines significantly.
Here we highlight the recent advantages in the understanding of protein oxidation and the fate of these damaged proteins during aging. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Posttranslational Protein modifications in biology and Medicine.
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► Oxidized proteins are degraded by the 20S proteasome. ► Oxidized, cross-linked proteins inhibit the proteasome. ► Macrophagy takes oxidized, cross-linked protein aggregates up into lysosomes. ► Ubiquitin is a cross-point of the proteasomal and macrophagy-lysosomal degradation pathways.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed continuously in the organism even under physiological conditions. If the level of ROS in cells exceeds the cellular defense capacity, components such as ...RNA/DNA, lipids, and proteins are damaged and modified, thus affecting the functionality of organelles as well. Proteins are especially prominent targets of various modifications such as oxidation, glycation, or conjugation with products of lipid peroxidation, leading to the alteration of their biological function, nonspecific interactions, and the production of high-molecular-weight protein aggregates. To ensure the maintenance of cellular functions, two proteolytic systems are responsible for the removal of oxidized and modified proteins, especially the proteasome and organelles, mainly the autophagy–lysosomal systems. Furthermore, increased protein oxidation and oxidation-dependent impairment of proteolytic systems lead to an accumulation of oxidized proteins and finally to the formation of nondegradable protein aggregates. Accordingly, the cellular homeostasis cannot be maintained and the cellular metabolism is negatively affected. Here we address the current knowledge of protein aggregation during oxidative stress, aging, and disease.
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•Permanently formed reactive species are the reason for the formation of high-molecular-weight protein aggregates.•Protein aggregates are often nondegradable and accumulate during aging and disease.•Insoluble protein aggregates affect cellular metabolism.
Here, we review the role of oxidative protein modification as a signal for recognition and degradation of proteins. It was clearly demonstrated that the ATP- and ubiquitin-independent 20S proteasome ...is playing a key role in the selective removal of oxidized proteins. Furthermore, the current knowledge of the substrate susceptibility on the degradation of oxidized proteins and the role of the immunoproteasome will be highlighted.
Here, we review shortly the current knowledge on the regulation of the proteasomal system during and after oxidative stress. After addressing the components of the proteasomal system and the ...degradation of oxidatively damaged proteins in part I and II of this series, we address here which changes in activity undergo the proteasome and the ubiquitin-proteasomal system itself under oxidative conditions. While several components of the proteasomal system undergo direct oxidative modification, a number of redox-regulated events are modulating the proteasomal activity in a way it can address the major tasks in an oxidative stress situation: the removal of oxidized proteins and the adaptation of the cellular metabolism to the stress situation.
The production of reactive species is an inevitable by-product of metabolism and thus, life itself. Since reactive species are able to damage cellular structures, especially proteins, as the most ...abundant macromolecule of mammalian cells, systems are necessary which regulate and preserve a functional cellular protein pool, in a process termed “proteostasis”. Not only the mammalian protein pool is subject of a constant turnover, organelles are also degraded and rebuild. The most important systems for these removal processes are the “ubiquitin-proteasomal system” (UPS), the central proteolytic machinery of mammalian cells, mainly responsible for proteostasis, as well as the “autophagy-lysosomal system”, which mediates the turnover of organelles and large aggregates.
Many age-related pathologies and the aging process itself are accompanied by a dysregulation of UPS, autophagy and the cross-talk between both systems. This review will describe the sources and effects of oxidative stress, preservation of cellular protein- and organelle-homeostasis and the effects of aging on proteostasis in mammalian cells.
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Aging is a complex phenomenon and its impact is becoming more relevant due to the rising life expectancy and because aging itself is the basis for the development of age-related diseases such as ...cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes. Recent years of scientific research have brought up different theories that attempt to explain the aging process. So far, there is no single theory that fully explains all facets of aging. The damage accumulation theory is one of the most accepted theories due to the large body of evidence found over the years. Damage accumulation is thought to be driven, among others, by oxidative stress. This condition results in an excess attack of oxidants on biomolecules, which lead to damage accumulation over time and contribute to the functional involution of cells, tissues and organisms. If oxidative stress persists, cellular senescence is a likely outcome and an important hallmark of aging. Therefore, it becomes crucial to understand how senescent cells function and how they contribute to the aging process. This review will cover cellular senescence features related to the protein pool such as morphological and molecular hallmarks, how oxidative stress promotes protein modifications, how senescent cells cope with them by proteostasis mechanisms, including antioxidant enzymes and proteolytic systems. We will also highlight the nutritional status of senescent cells and aged organisms (including human clinical studies) by exploring trace elements and micronutrients and on their importance to develop strategies that might increase both, life and health span and postpone aging onset.
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