In an attempt to model the processes of free radical-mediated cataractogenesis, we investigated the oxidative modification of rat eye lens proteins by peroxyl radicals generated by thermal decomposition of 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane)hydrochloride (AAPH) under aerobic conditions. When incubated with AAPH, the soluble eye lens proteins precipitated in a time-dependent manner. The insolubilisation was accompanied by the accumulation of protein free carbonyls and the diminution of sulfhydryls, yet the processes were shifted in time. The SDS-PAGE analysis of the AAPH-treated proteins revealed the presence of high molecular weight cross-links and, to a lesser extent, fragments. The aggregation and cross-linking of proteins along with the generation of free carbonyls was significantly inhibited by the chain-breaking antioxidants stobadine and Trolox. On the other hand, the AAPH-initiated sulfhydryl consumption was much less sensitive to the antioxidants studied. The results point to a complex mechanism of peroxyl-radical-mediated modification of eye lens proteins with implications for cataract development and they indicate a potentially protective role of antioxidants.

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Using an experimental in vitro glycation model, long-term incubations of bovine serum albumin with glucose (fructose) resulted in a significant increase in protein content of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-reactive carbonyl groups, which could be strongly inhibited by anaerobiosis and metal chelation. The pattern of yields of the protein-bound DNPH was not in accordance with that of the sugar-derived carbonyls determined as the ketoamine Amadori product. In spite of the fact that the contribution of the final advanced glycation end-products to the total DNPH-reactivity of glycation-altered protein remains unclear, the present results stress the need of oxidative steps in formation of most of the DNPH-reactive carbonyl compounds generated by glycation. The results provide evidence that, in protein glycoxidation, the DNPH assay is selective enough to discriminate between protein-bound carbonyls produced by metal-catalysed oxidations and those formed in the early glycation steps.

In the present work, pepsin digests of tail tendons from streptozotocin-diabetic rats were found to contain material that reacted rapidly at room temperature with p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (Ehrlich's reagent) to give an adduct with an absorbance spectrum characteristic of the Ehrlich chromogen of pyrrolic nature determined in ageing collagens. A significant correlation of the Ehrlich adduct with tendon mechanical strength and collagen fluorescence characteristic of advanced glycation endproducts was observed. Collagen content of the Ehrlich-positive material was found to be significantly elevated in tendons of diabetic rats compared with age-matched healthy controls. The results indicate that the p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde-reactive pyrrole moieties may contribute to the increased cross-linking of diabetic matrix collagen. Profound inhibitory effect of aminoguanidine was observed, underlining the role of non-enzymatic mechanisms of advanced glycation in pyrrolisation and cross-linking of collagen exposed to hyperglycaemia. It is hypothesised that quantification of the p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde-reactive material in matrix collagen may provide a tissue measure of integrated hyperglycaemia over prolonged periods of time. Further research is to assess the significance of p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde-reactive substances in diabetic collagen tissues and to reveal their relationship to enzyme-mediated physiological pyrrolisation of ageing collagens.

Abstract. Oxidative stress and polyol pathway hypotheses are generally accepted in the etiology of diabetic complications. Recently, novel carboxymethylated pyridoindoles, structural analogues of the efficient chain-breaking antioxidant stobadine, were designed, synthesised and characterised as prospective aldose reductase inhibitors endowed with antioxidant activity. Of them (2-benzyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido [4,3-b]indole-8-yl)-acetic acid (compound 1) and (2-phenethyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido [4,3-b]indole-8-yl)-acetic acid (compound 2) were found to be the most efficient inhibitors of aldose reductase with the corresponding IC 50 values in a micromolar region. The aim of this work was to study cellular uptake of the novel pyridoindole derivatives and their effect on the complex metabolism of glucose in isolated rat erythrocytes under euglycaemic conditions. Glycolysis was shown to be the sole process responsible for the observed clearance of glucose. The compounds studied were avidly taken up by the cells, yet they did not significantly affect glucose consumption and lactate production nor did they affect osmotic fragility of the erythrocytes. On balance, the present experimental findings indicate that compounds 1 and 2, efficient inhibitors of aldose reductase, are selective in relation to the glycolytic pathway of glucose elimination. This conclusion supports current preclinical development of novel carboxymethylated tetrahydropyridoindoles as promising aldose reductase inhibitors for pharmacological prevention and treatment of diabetic complications.