Background
N epsilon-(carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL), one of the advanced glycation end products (AGEs), is a stable, nonenzymatic chemical modifications of protein lysine residues resulting from glycation and oxidation. Recently, it has been demonstrated that gut microbiota mediates an aging-associated decline in gut barrier function, allowing AGEs to leak into the bloodstream from the gut and impairing microglial function in the brain. CEL was also detected in human lens proteins at a concentration similar to that of CML(CEL homolog), and increased with age in parallel with the concentration of CML. Although CEL was formed in highest yields during the reaction of methylglyoxal and triose phosphates with lysine and protein, it was also formed in reactions of pentoses, ascorbate and other sugars with lysine and RNase.
Cellular location
Nucleus, Cytoplasm
