Elucidation of removal mechanisms for toxic advanced glycation products that gradually accumulate in the daily diet

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K11583
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 59040:Nutrition science and health science-related
• Research Institution: Kanazawa Medical University
• Principal Investigator: SAKAI Akiko 金沢医科大学, 総合医学研究所, 准教授 (60570059)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 生活習慣病 / 終末糖化産物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Toxic Advanced glycation end-products (TAGE) are substances that accumulate in the body as a result of sugar intake. Although TAGE has been suggested to be strongly involved in the development and progression of various lifestyle-related diseases, its removal mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we aimed to clarify the mechanism of TAGE degradation, suggesting that TAGE was degraded by intracellular proteolytic mechanisms (autophagy and ubiquitin-proteasome system). In addition, we constructed an experimental system to study the degradation behavior of fluorescent labeled standard protein in cells, using fluorescence intensity as an indicator of the degradation behavior of TAGE in cells.

Free Research Field

分子生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

「人生100年時代」といわれる長寿社会の先にある介護、認知症、貧困のリスクは人生の先の不安として、さらには社会にとっては医療費の増大などにつながる大きな問題となっている。このような不安やリスクを軽減するためにも生活習慣病を予防し、健康寿命の延伸につなげる研究が喫緊の課題である。
本研究では、生活習慣病に関連し、さらに糖の摂取が続く限り必ず蓄積され続けるTAGEの分解機構について解析を行った。これらの解明により、TAGEが引き起こしうる疾患の予防や改善にむけた活用が期待される。