Comparison of glycation of glutathione S-transferase by methylglyoxal, glucose or fructose

Glycation is a process closely related to the aging and pathogenesis of diabetic complications. In this process, reactive α-dicarbonyl compounds (e.g., methylglyoxal) cause protein modification accompanied with potential loss of their biological activity and persistence of damaged molecules in tissues. We suppose that glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), a group of cytosolic biotransformation enzymes, may be modified by glycation in vivo, which would provide a rationale of its use as a model protein for studying glycation reactions. Glycation of GST by methylglyoxal, fructose, and glucose in vitro was studied. The course of protein glycation was evaluated using the following criteria: enzyme activity, formation of advanced glycation end-products using fluorescence and western blotting, amine content, protein conformation, cross linking and aggregation, and changes in molecular charge of GST. The ongoing glycation by methylglyoxal 2 mM resulted in pronounced decrease in the GST activity. It also led to the loss of 14 primary amino groups, which was accompanied by changes in protein mobility during native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Formation of cross links with molecular weight of 75 kDa was observed. Obtained results can contribute to understanding of changes, which proceed in metabolism of xenobiotics during diabetes mellitus and ageing.