The role of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in the development of vascular diabetic complications

The advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) constitute a class of heterogeneous molecules formed by amino-carbonyl reactions of a non-enzymatic nature, which occur at an accelerated rate in the hyperglycemic state of diabetes. Considered important pathogenic mediators of diabetic complications, AGEs are capable of irreversibly modifying the chemical properties and functions of diverse biological structures. In this review, recent data from literature is presented describing the pathways of AGEs formation,their metabolism, the main mechanisms of action of these substances in the triggering of pathological processes associated with diabetes, as well as methods of AGEs determination in biological samples. This text also points to new perspectives in anti-AGE therapies, an example of which is the studies involved with the action of natural compounds of food, which can represent a potential coadjuvant therapy for people with diabetes or other pathologies associated with the degenerative accumulation of AGEs.